History of Latin American Dermatology

DERMATOLOGYIN EL SALVADORJULIO EDUARDO BAÑOS, ENRIQUE HERNÁNDEZ PÉREZ,LEANA QUINTANILLA SÁNCHEZThe origins of Dermatology in El Salvador — as in any other country — are difficultto state precisely, since doctors practiced medicine in general, without specializing in anybranch in particular 1 .In pre-Hispanic El Salvador — a region called Cuscatlán in the native tongue — themedicine man (tepahtiani) used medicines, usually plants (tepahtelizte), to cure skindiseases 2 .Based on clay statuettes of pre-Columbian times, Dr. Oswaldo Ramírez 3 determinedthe existence of many dermatological entities such as congenital syphilis, nasal scleroma,onychomycosis and neurofibromatosis, and investigated the therapeutic methods used.The most widely used plants included: firebush (Hamelia patens Jacq.), of astringent anddrying effect; cinchona (Cinchona succirubra Pav.), of healing effect on wounds; andchinaberry (Melia azedarach L.). Doctor Ramírez notes that the use of many of those archaicmedicines is still maintained among rural populations.In 1930, general practitioner Salomón Meléndez was named head of the Leprosarium, theservice in charge of skin diseases at the National Medical Center of the Rosales Hospital 4 .In 1933, the first doctors specialized in skin diseases and in syphilis, a very importantdisease at that time, began to arrive in the country. The first one was Esteban Reyes, whohad completed his graduate studies in California. He began giving conferences at theRosales Hospital, and in November 1935 he founded the Dermatology and Syphilology office,one of the first in Central America. He was also responsible for the creation of theSociety of Dermatology of El Salvador in 1951, its founding being made official in 1957.In that year, he promoted the development of the First Central American Congress ofDermatology, held in San Salvador from December 5 to 8, attended by Dr. Pardo Castellófrom Cuba and Dr. Fernando Latapí from Mexico as special guest professors; but Reyes,who was the president of the Congress, was unable to see his work completed, since hedied in June of that year. During this congress, which gathered many of the dermatologistsof Central America, the founding of the Central American Society of Dermatologywas decided upon at a meeting held on the shores of Coatepeque Lake, certified by a documentcalled the “Declaration of Coatepeque.”One of the diseases most studied by Dr. Reyes was rhinoscleroma, on which he wroteseveral papers; he also left important contributions on xeroderma pigmentosum, scarletfever, psoriasis and cutaneous tuberculosis.217