Paul Salmon

BHB MBChB (Auckland) FRACP ACMMSCO

Skincentre.com
171 Cameron Road
Tauranga 3110

Phone: (07) 578-5788
Fax: (07) 578-5781
Send an email
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Phone: (07) 347-2123

Public hospital:

Honorary Consultant Dermatologist
Waikato Public Hospital
Private Bag 3200
Hamilton

Phone: (07) 579-8000
Fax: (07) 579-8000

Other hospitals:

Norfolk / Southern Cross Hospital, Tauranga

Interests & facilities:

Mohs surgery
Skin cancer surgery
Day stay facility

Cosmetic procedures:
BOTOX® injections
Cosmoderm™/Cosmoplast™
Perlane™, Restylane™, SubQ™ & fat implants
Glycolic, TCA, & Jessner peels
Hair transplants
Blepharoplasty/eyelid surgery
Liposuction
Sclerotherapy
Laser resurfacing
Laser vein treatments
Laser hair removal
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
Thread lifts
Minimal incision face lifts

Medical School:

Auckland

Year of graduation: 1987

Advanced training:

Hamilton
Auckland
San Francisco

1993
1994
1995-1996

Research interests:

Skin Cancer
Liposuction
Facial reconstruction

Other positions/memberships:

Fellow American Academy of Dermatology
Fellow American College of Mohs Surgery

Further information:

Dr Salmon completed the last two years of his specialist training at the University of California, San Francisco. Here Dr Salmon completed the year-long course for membership of the American College of Mohs Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology and received the Ted Tromovitch Memorial Award for his research in skin cancer. He now runs one of 3 accredited Mohs Fellowships outside the United States.

He has also worked extensively with some of California's best cosmetic dermatologists and has been on the faculty at three international laser conferences and the teaching faculty of the American Academy of Dermatology 1997-2008 meetings. He was co-chair at the World Congress of Dermatology in France 2005 and Argentina in 2007.

He is currently in private practice in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty. He is a Consultant Dermatologic Surgeon at Tauranga Public Hospital.

Dr Salmon's area of special interest are cutaneous oncology, micrographic surgery, prevention of skin cancer and sun damage and cosmetic surgery.

Dr Salmon's practice offers Dermatologic medicine and surgery, specialising in skin cancer and cosmetic surgery services.

Skin cancer

• Counselling on the prevention and treatment of skin cancer, melanoma and sun damage
• Epiluminescent microscopic assessment of pigmented spots and moles
• Digital mole imaging
• Skin cancer checks
• Skin cancer surgery, cryosurgery and Mohs micrographic surgery

Mohs micrographic surgery: State of the art microscopic surgical treatment for skin cancer

Skin cancer is by far the commonest cancer in New Zealand and the numbers of cases diagnosed each year continues to rise. Most skin cancers affect sun exposed areas, the face being one of the commonest sites. Surgical removal of skin cancer remains the optimum treatment for facial tumours. However, to maximise cure rates, sizable portions of apparently normal skin need to be removed around the visible tumour to clear microscopic deposits of skin cancer cells. These wide excisions may compromise the cosmetic outcome from such surgery, and this is especially true in cosmetically sensitive areas such as the face. In addition, deposits of skin cancer can still be missed, leading to recurrences that may require extensive and disfiguring operations at a later date.

Mohs Micrographic Surgery is a technically advanced and precise treatment for skin cancer that was originally developed by Dr. Frederic Mohs (University of Wisconsin, USA) in the early 1940s. Mohs in its current form was devised by Drs Tromovitch and Stegeman at University of California Medical Centre in the late 70’s. The technique was embraced by Specialist Dermatologists who recognized that a visible skin cancer often resembles a "tip of the iceberg" with more tumour cells growing downward and outward into the skin, like the roots of a tree. These "roots" are not visible with the naked eye, but can be seen under a microscope.

Over the years the technique has undergone many refinements. Today, this specialised procedure is performed by highly trained Specialist Dermatologists with skill in skin cancer diagnosis, surgical removal, microscopic analysis (to determine the extent of the skin cancer) and facial reconstruction. The skin cancer is removed in stages, one tissue layer at a time. Once a tissue layer is removed, the edges are marked with specially coloured dyes, and precisely orientated by creating a map of the specimen. The tissue that has been removed is then processed rapidly onto microscope slides in a way that allows examination of absolutely all the edges and deep part of the specimen. These slides are then meticulously examined under the microscope by the Specialist Dermatologist so that any microscopic roots of the cancer can be precisely identified and mapped. When cancer cells are seen, an additional tissue layer is removed only in areas where the cancer is still present and so preserving as much of the normal surrounding healthy skin as possible. Once the cancer has been completely removed, the Specialist Dermatologist will repair the wound to ensure the best possible cosmetic result and minimise scarring.

Cure rates for skin cancers treated with Mohs micrographic surgery by Specialist Dermatologists are higher than for any other type of treatment. These are approximately 99 percent for new skin cancers and 95 percent for difficult recurrent skin cancers (those which have been treated in the past and have come back). The nature of the technique also allows the preservation of as much uninvolved skin as possible, minimising scarring and ensuring the best possible cosmetic result.

Dr Salmon has been using Mohs surgery for 10 years now in the Bay of Plenty and Auckland. He has performed over 4000 Mohs procedures. His work is of such a standard that he has been accredited too run one of only 2 College Mohs Training Programs outside the USA.