Dermatology

The Department of Dermatology of the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University was founded in the early 1990s. Through the efforts of several generations of senior experts, it has gradually expanded and built a diligent, eager-to-learn, energetic, and strong medical and nursing team. It has complete equipment and diagnostic and treatment technology at a leading domestic level. It provides diagnosis and treatment for common, frequent, and difficult-to-treat skin diseases and sexually transmitted diseases, including allergen testing, desensitization treatment, intelligent diagnosis with fluorescent fungal staining, a skin-image workstation, laser cosmetics, golden radiofrequency microneedling, an M22 laser-photon workstation, 308-nm excimer light, epidermal transplantation for vitiligo, cell transplantation including ReCell technology, LED red and blue light, ALA photodynamic therapy, FLE phototherapy, thermally induced immune therapy, hydrating injections, cryotherapy, fire-needle treatment, electric-ion treatment for bromhidrosis, surgical excision of skin masses, and other treatments. Dermatology is a comprehensive clinical discipline integrating prevention, medical care, teaching, and research. It is an artificial-intelligence teaching base for dermatology and venereology of Sun Yat-sen University and the Guangzhou Institute of Dermatology and Venereology; one of the first five hospitals in the national remote education and consultation center for skin diseases established under the leadership of China-Japan Friendship Hospital; and a master’s degree awarding site of Sun Yat-sen University. The department has always valued discipline construction. Under the leadership of discipline head Wu Liangcai, it gradually established four subspecialties and developed distinctive features. (I) Vitiligo specialty: Director Wu Liangcai and the team’s attending physicians provide primary care. In 2021, the number of treatment visits exceeded 14,000. Upholding the philosophy of professional focus and building a high-quality specialty, the team actively participates in academic exchanges in China and abroad and has undertaken 5 domestic research projects in this field. It introduced Wood’s lamp dermoscopy, a Dermlite III dermoscope, 308-nm excimer light, a negative-pressure blistering epidermal transplantation device, and a German imported electric dermatome. Clinical and basic research on treating vitiligo with co-cultured stem cells and melanocytes was published in Stem Cell Research & Therapy. For extensive, refractory, stable vitiligo, the department performs ReCell cell-suspension transplantation. Discipline head Wu Liangcai initiated China’s first vitiligo foundation, Bai Bai Homeland. (II) Laser cosmetology specialty: This is part of the hospital’s Medical Cosmetology Center. It aims to provide safe, high-standard medical cosmetic services and is one of the few professional dermatologic medical-management centers in a public tertiary hospital in the province. It introduced the first picosecond Q-switched Nd:YAG laser in a provincial public hospital, requiring fewer treatments, with more visible effects and less damage. It also has advanced equipment including an M22 photon platform, golden radiofrequency microneedling, fractional CO2 laser, ice-point hair-removal semiconductor laser, high-energy LED red and blue light, and the Derma Shine new-generation hydrating-injection device. Services include skin rejuvenation; treatment of acne, hirsutism, freckles, sunspots, melasma, birthmarks, nevus of Ota, pigmented nevi, facial telangiectasia, scars, and other disfiguring skin diseases; and minimally invasive cosmetic services such as Botox type A botulinum toxin and hyaluronic-acid injections. (III) Hair-loss and acne specialty: After accumulating clinical experience in tens of thousands of cases of different acne types, the department has developed distinctive treatments and a philosophy of progressing from cure to beauty and enjoys a strong reputation in Guangdong. Treatments include individualized medicines and functional skincare products, PRP, high-energy LED red and blue light, intense pulsed light (IPL), mitochondrial regeneration fluorescence (FLE) phototherapy, fractional laser, chemical peeling with fruit acids, hydrating injections, golden microneedling, and microfilling. An AI diagnosis and treatment system for acne under smartphone or dermoscopic imaging is being developed. The alopecia specialty focuses on mechanisms and comprehensive treatment of hair diseases, especially androgenetic alopecia, and improves patient satisfaction across prevention, treatment, growth, and care. (IV) Psoriasis and eczema specialty: In research and prevention of psoriasis, it promotes clinical care through research and uses advanced immune, pathological, and dermoscopic image analysis, together with traditional medications, biologics, topical preparations, medicated baths, and phototherapy. It advocates a new medical model in which psoriasis patients receive standardized and humane care from initial diagnosis to clinical cure, including case classification, efficacy evaluation, treatment planning, psychological communication, and health education. The aim is to improve quality of life, safely reduce disease severity, and reduce and prevent recurrence, earning a high reputation in the field. The dermatology team comprises experienced dermatologists, technicians, and nurses who have received professional training and possess the latest technical knowledge and skills. Every day they provide the most professional care. They remain patient-centered and emphasize collaboration and communication to ensure the best treatment, offering comprehensive services that include not only medical treatment but also preventive health care and rehabilitation nursing. Through an internet clinic they provide round-the-clock services to meet patients’ needs anywhere and anytime, continually expanding their scope to provide professional, high-quality care to more patients.