The diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases remains the primary purpose of the practice. A wide variety of skin pathology is diagnosed and treated in the most effective way possible.

Dynamic cooling of the skin allows for gentle, less painful, longterm hair removal with the Alexandrite Laser. Thirteen years of experience has taught us what you, the patient, wants and expects from the procedure. It is safer, easier and a lot less painful than you think. These procedures are done under Dr Ives' supervision by an experienced lady therapist.

The current fashion to tattoo the body has spawned a tremendous demand for tattoo removal. Very often people regret a spur of the moment decision or want it removed for some other reason. We use a high power Q-Switched Nd-YAG laser with attachments, to generate the correct wavelengths for each particular colour. Darker inks instilled by amateurs on fair skin are removed the easiest, yellow or white tattoos are the most difficult to remove. A rough estimate of the number of treatments required will be done by our tattoo laser therapist and an estimation of cost can then be given. The cost per session is determined primarily by the size of the tattoo.

Not all pigmented lesions can or should be treated with laser. The decision to use laser treatment will be carefully considered by Dr Ives. Good results can be obtained with this modality on “age spots”, “liver spots”, and certain other benign lesions. It is not suitable for birthmarks, moles, melanoma or pigmentation of pregnancy (Melasma). The machines used for this treatment include the Alexandrite, the Erbium and the CO2 lasers.

The CO2 laser is an excellent surgical tool to excise lesions with a bloodless field in very vascular areas. There is also minimal surrounding tissue damage. It is also used as a cautery apparatus in patients with cardiac pacemakers.

The use of Aminolevulinic acid and light of wavelength 633nm (OMNILUX REVIVE) has revolutionised the treatment of pre-cancerous skin lesions. In the past only clinically evident lesions could be treated, usually with liquid nitrogen. Microscopic examination of “normal” skin in the involved areas, however, shows the pre-cursors of cancer as yet invisible to the naked eye. As new lesions develop, repeated treatments have to be given. This is a great stress for the patient and a drain on resources. By eliminating the “subclinical” fore-runners, the number of cancers that develop over time are reduced tremendously. Over the years, this results in a tremendous cost saving and reduction in discomfort.

The combination of 633nm (OMNILUX REVIVE) and 415nm (OMNILUX BLUE) light has been found to be therapeutic for acne. It destroys the bacteria that are normally targeted by antibiotics during acne treatment. The treatment is especially useful in patients that are pregnant and have acne or patients that cannot tolerate the standard drug therapies.

Use of the OMNILUX PLUS (803nm) light aids in wound healing and skin rejuvenation.

Spider veins on the legs are a great cosmetic concern to patients. The tendency to get these is genetic and often accelerated by pregnancy. A relatively painless injection into the veins can cause them to regress. Dr Ives will examine the veins to determine whether you are a candidate for this type of treatment.

Botulinium toxin injections for frown lines and other lines on the face caused by muscle actions, has been used in this practice since the mid – 1990’s. This treatment is safe, effective and not as expensive as you may think. Due to the popularity of the treatment, Botox ® is always available at this practice.

Various fillers are used in this practice. Those most often used to fill lines or give volume contain Hyaluronic acid. These products are safe, give immediate results and have no downtime for recovery.

Less often used are semi-permanent fillers. These tend to have more side effects than those mentioned above.

We pride ourselves in being conservative with fillers and will ensure that the end result looks natural.

Chemical peels using fruit acids are a popular and easy way to improve the look of your facial skin. The treatment is inexpensive with no downtime. It also aids in improving acne (blackheads) and contributes to the lightening of pigmented patches on the facial skin.

“Deep” chemical peels are no longer done as the laser alternative is safer and more effective.

A somewhat deeper peel is obtained with the use of Aminolevulinic acid and 633nm (OMNILUX REVIVE) light. The cosmetic effect can be enhanced with the addition of 803nm (OMNILUX PLUS) treatment.

The advent of powerful computers and innovative camera technologies has heralded the mole mapping era. We can now capture pictures of your moles in great detail and use this technology to get a “second opinion” as to whether a naevus should be removed or not. This has cut down on the number of surgeries done “just in case”. The pictures of the moles that are captured are used as a reference at future visits so that we can see any changes in a mole at the earliest possible time.

Malignant melanoma is a lethal type of skin cancer. If it is diagnosed early, it is totally curable. This system has enabled us to go a long way in improving early diagnosis of this cancer.

Full mole mapping is not always necessary and Dr Ives will examine your moles clinically before you go to the possibly unnecessary expense of this procedure.