History of Latin American Dermatology

CÉSAR QUIÑONES, PABLO I. ALMODÓVARtheir treatment and checkups at the clinics of the Dermatology Department. Dr. Pablo I.Almodóvar has been the primary doctor and head of this Department under the LeprosyProgram sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service overthe last twenty years.■ Associations of dermatologists of dermatologistsThe first association of dermatologists was constituted with the forming of the DermatologySection of the Medical Association of Puerto Rico, in the early 1950s. For twodecades, this section grouped most dermatologists who practiced their specialized fieldin Puerto Rico.In 1971, a new organization was formed, the Dermatological Society of Puerto Rico.This entity, independent from the Dermatology Section, slowly became the largest groupingof dermatologists. Since 1971, the Society has every summer held a convention towhich practically all the dermatologists of Puerto Rico and many residents in the UnitedStates assist. A mini-convention also takes place in November. In this manner, active dermatologistsaccumulate a large part of the credits that are necessary for their re-certificationevery three years. These activities are characterized by their scientific and socialexcellence, and guest lecturers, North Americans and Europeans, Central and SouthAmericans and residents of the Caribbean, participate in them. The success of the DermatologicalSociety of Puerto Rico is to a large extent the result of the commitment of theDermatology Department of the Medical School with the academic and scientific part ofthe conventions.Most dermatologists are members of the American Academy of Dermatology andmany of them attend the annual conventions. A large number of dermatologists belongto other professional societies, including the Ibero-Latin American Association of Dermatology(CILAD), groups of dermatopathology, cosmetology, cosmetic surgery, Mohssurgery, pediatric dermatology and the Association of Professors of Dermatology.■ CommunicationsIn 1977-79, Dr. César A. Quiñones published a newsletter with the title News from...,which was distributed among dermatologists and other specialists interested in our field;in the newsletter, news was discussed, information was exchanged, medical drug costswere compared, etc. With technological progress, in August 2000 Dr. Quiñones set up aworldwide web page called notimed.com, which ended in 2004, when the DermatologicalSociety of Puerto Rico, under the management of Dr. José Rabelo, officially createdour web portal: SDPR.ORG.The most significant event in the short life of Dermatology in Puerto Rico was theholding of the Eighteenth Congress of the Ibero-Latin American Association of Dermatology(CILAD), in August 1995. Around a thousand dermatologists attended, spendingsome memorable days of scientific and social exchanges, while getting to know PuertoRico. During this congress of the CILAD, the first convention of the Latin American Societyof Dermatopathology was also held, an association formed in Porto Alegre, Brazil,in 1994. ■January 2005