Karan Lal, DO: Cosmetic Complications and Safety Regulations in Dermatology

During his HCPLive interview, Karan Lal, DO, spoke more about the differences between medical spa treatments and dermatologists’ office treatments, as well as about complications that can occur with treatments.

Lal is known for his work as both the director of pediatric dermatology and cosmetic surgery at Affiliated Dermatology Scottsdale and as social media chair for the Society for Pediatric Dermatology.

He began by stating that around 30 to 50% of his cosmetic practice revolves around managing complications from outside providers.

“So, if they don't know what something is, if they can’t see the difference between a bruise and a vascular occlusion with a patient that's just had filler, that's a big problem,” Lal explained. “Because in that situation, it's very time sensitive. Time is tissue, time is vision, time is sensation.”

Lal explained that a board-certified dermatologist may have a particular standard of care that other providers may not have, including being able to recognize and treat adverse events.

He also went into a brief description of some of the cosmetic complications he has personally seen with patients throughout his work as a dermatologist.

“The biggest thing I've seen is burns,” he recalled. “So I see a lot of burns from laser hair removal, a lot of burns from IPL treatments, BBL treatments. I've seen a lot of burns and scars from radiofrequency microneedling. Those are the big things that I see.”

Lal concluded with his views on what times patients should visit a medical spa when compared to a dermatology office.

“I think medical spas are great for procedures like…medical grade facials, low-level microneedling with a certain depth, and that depth varies state by state,” he said. “You know, chemical peels that are low-potency chemical peels, extractions for blackheads, waxing, eyebrows, and things that require a certain skill set, but are not necessarily going to put you in a high-risk situation, if that makes sense.”

For any further information from Lal’s interview, view the full HCPLive interview segment above.