History of Latin American Dermatology

M. MADERO, F. MADERO, G. MONTENEGRO, M. COELLO, C. ARIASFigure 34.Promotional poster ofthe 3rd EcuadorianSessions ofDermatology inCuenca, May 1979Figure 35. “FranklinEncalada Córdova”award given to theEcuadorian Society ofDermatology, AzuayNucleus, Cuenca,1992traveling seminars to different regions in the south, with conferences and treatment ofpatients, etc., have been planned and organized, events that have caused the Azuay MedicalAssociation to grant our Society the honor of the “Franklin Encalada Córdova” (formerly,Azuay Medical Association) award, for the 1992 period, which rewards thescientific-professional and social work of the different Societies associated with thatprovincial Medical Association 24 (Figure 35).In this brief summary of our society, there are events worth including, such as the presentationand publication of the First case of lobomycosis in Ecuador in 1985 by Drs. IvánZéas D., Franklin Encalada C. and Mauricio Coello U., members of our nucleus 29, 33 .Since 1968, the Azuay Nucleus, headed by Drs. Claudio Arias and Franklin Encalada,participated in the description of a variety of leishmaniasis that, because of its characteristics— age (mostly children), location (exposed areas: the face), type of lesions(small, rounded) and geographic area (southern: provinces of Azuay and Cañar, between2,400 and 2,500 meters above sea level) — was later to be called “high altitude urbanLeishmaniasis.” This disease reached its maximum frequency in the years 1978-1980,coinciding with a time of drought; the work was presented at the Eleventh EcuadorianCongress of Dermatology in Quito in 1982 19 ).Another important event that is worth recalling is the First International Meeting of Dermatologyheld in Cuenca on February 13, 1999, under the presidency of Dr. Marcelo Merchán,with the presence and participation of professors Luis Díaz (Medical College ofWisconsin), Thomas Lewley (Atlanta, Georgia), Richard Edelson (Yale University) and EvandroRivitii (São Paulo, Brazil), and enjoyed massive local and national participation 24, 32 .The Azuay Nucleus, headed by Dr. Edgar Reinoso, additionally organized from April5 to 7, 2001, in Cuenca, the International Teenage Dermatology Course, which had greatacceptance and participation both among general practitioners and specialists nationwide24 .With the aim of contributing to scientific development and the education of the medicalpopulation in general, the members of the Azuay Nucleus, and particularly Drs.Marcelo Merchán and Víctor León, participated in the drafting and distribution of whatwere given the name of “Dermatology Notebooks,” as a continuing Medical Educationprogram in General Dermatology and Pediatrics; these publications have been distributedsince 2001. Following this initiative, Osvaldo Muñoz, Marcelo Merchán, MauricioCoello, Víctor León and Teodoro Espinosa, with the support of the Ecuadorian Societyof Dermatology and the sponsorship of the Department of Culture of the University ofCuenca, in 2002 published a book entitled Prevention of Skin Diseases, aimed at the educationand training not only of the medical population, but also of the public at large,by virtue of its easy and comprehensible language 34 .Finally, we should point out that, with regard to the professional aspect, the AzuayNucleus has provided national Dermatology, among other things, with the drafting, discussionand definitive approval of the National Session Regulations 24, 32 ; the discussionand approval of the Publication Regulations of the Dermatología Journal; the draftingand discussion of the Regulations for Bylaws of the Ecuadorian Society, which, once approved,will contribute to organizing and regulating activities both at the local and nationallevels 24 . The Azuay Nucleus has its own premises, acquired in 1993, where itsheadquarters operate and where, year after year, a library and a slides archive are beingimplemented 24 .The facts summarized in the above paragraphs speak for themselves regarding theunity and work mystique that characterizes those of us who are proud to be part of theAzuay Nucleus of the Ecuadorian Society of Dermatology, “considered to be one of themost united societies in the country; with discrepancies that bring us together, becausethey fine-tune ideas, with tensions that at some moment might have had quasi-personalcharacteristics (especially at the national level), but which have been already smoothed214