History of Latin American Dermatology

History of Dermatology in the Dominican Republic— carried out their training in the plastic surgery department thatexisted in the institute during the 1972-1992 period. Subsequently,Drs. Antonio Giraldes, Ana Cruz and Kirshe Fernández trained inMexico and San Salvador. Today, the Dermatological Institute hasan official residency of Dermatological Surgery with a duration oftwo years, which has acquired remarkable development 32, 33 .The cosmetic area was developed in the 1970s, when young specialiststraveled to Argentina to train with Alejandro Cordero;among them was Ana Josefa Marte, Margarita Cotes, DoraidaJones. This allowed the opening of a department of the specializedsubfield at the IDD, this being one of the favorite areas of specializationfor dermatologists.The field of cryosurgery was launched at the IDD in the 70s byRosa Francia Rojas, with a practice in a private and institutional manner. At the IDD, thisdepartment has been headed since 1986 by Silvia Marte, a pediatrician, dermatologicalsurgeon, and specialist in cryosurgery. In the private sector the work of Edgardo JorgeJob, who trained in Japan, has also been outstanding 32, 34 .Phlebology ceased to be exclusively for surgeons. Eida Espaillat, followed by CarmenYris Taveras, created the basis for dermatological Phlebology, together with Chantal Uttendalefrom Belgium, and then with Daniela Guerrero, Cesarina Liviano and Víctor Pou.Stomatology has been handled by Dr. Adolfo Arthur Nouel, a dentist and stomatologist,who trained in Argentina with Prof. Grinspan and who, together with Dr. FernandoJacobo Armach, initiated the Department of Stomatology at the IDD.Initially, skin biopsies were interpreted by general pathologists, to the extent that in1965 the SDD incorporated three of them — Rafael Alfau Cambiaso, Alcides HernándezGuante and Michelle Khoury. The latter studied in France with Prof. Civatte and was thefirst dermatopathologist at the IDD, succeeded by Nilda Fernández and Antonio Torres,who practice in the private sector. At present, this department is led by Fernanda NanitaEstévez, who trained in Argentina with Prof. Abulafia and works in close collaborationwith the dermatopathologist Rayza Acosta and the general pathologist Nerys Ramírez.Currently, there are six dermatopathologists in the country.Occupational Dermatology has its origins in the 1980s, when Idalina Sánchez trainedwith the Spanish professor Conde Zalazar (1983) and created the department at the IDD;Elfida Sánchez, who also trained with Conde in 1992, succeeded her at the post.Figure 12. Frontview of the Dr.Huberto BogaertDíazDermatological andSkin SurgeryInstitute, the majortreatment center inthe DominicanRepublicOther institutionsIn January 1988, a second institution of cutaneous medicine was created, the HerreraDermatological Clinic, founded by Idalina Sánchez, Eida Espaillat, Rosa Francia Rojasand Mariselda Fernández. Today the center owns ample headquarters and departmentssuch as occupational Dermatology, cosmiatriacs, minor surgery, cryosurgery, laboratoryand pharmacy and, as with the IDCP, is dedicated to offering services to a population oflimited resources 34-36 .At present there are other private dermatological clinics, which focus mainly on cosmetics.Publications■ PublicationsFIRST DERMATOLOGY PUBLICATIONIn 1967, the IDD launched the first dermatological publication, the Revista Dominicanade Dermatología or RDD, the official organ of IDD, currently in circulation; it is383