About Department

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT	Dr. DEVI K.
OP DAYS AND TIME	MONDAY-SATURDAY (8AM-1PM)
SPECIALITY CLINICS	MONDAY - PSORIASIS CLINIC TUESDAY - VESICULOBULLOUS CLINIC WEDNESDAY -CONTACT DERMATITIS CLINIC THURSDAY- DRUG REACTION CLINIC FRIDAY - PIGMENTARY CLINIC SATURDAY - PAEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY
DEPARTMENT E MAIL ID	dermtsr@gmail.com

 

Overview & History

The Department of Dermatology & Venereology of Government Medical College, Thrissur had its modest beginnings in the year 1982 in the then district hospital, Thrissur, a part of which was converted to medical college hospital. The first Head of the Department was late Prof. P.A. Sarojini.  The department was one among the first few departments which moved to the present campus in Mulangunnathukavu in the year 1988 - in the Medical College Chest Hospital. In 2013, it was shifted to its present premises in the new medical college hospital.

 

Courses & Available Seats

Courses	#Seats/Year
M.D.  DVL	4 Seats

 

Achievements

1. The department has been crowned with 16 national and 23 state awards till date.

2. Dr. Asokan N received National IADVL Canixa oration awardin 2021 for his distinguished work among older persons with skin diseases in the community. He was also awarded the IADVL best teacher award in 2022, as a recognition of bringing the department to the forefront of academics at the national level.

3. Dr. Ajithkumar K won the IADVL Systopic oration award in 2022 for his leadership role in organizing care for HIV patients. The ‘Thrissur model of HIV care’ which was spearheaded by him in the 2000s has received national attention.

4. The teams of postgraduate students from the department were national runners-up in the very coveted IADVL-GSK Quiz two times during the last three years (The team of Dr. Gopika Sunil and Dr. Premjith TJ in 2020 and Dr. Alaka J Mohan and Dr. Shilpa Jithendran in 2022). Dr. Gopika Sunil was the first rank holder in KUHS in the MD DVL examination 2020, a feat repeated by Dr. Alaka J Mohan in 2022.

 

 

Facilities

1. PhotoTherapy Units
   A phototherapy unit functions in the department which is one of the most versatile and effective treatment options for a range of dermatologic diseases. We are equipped with whole range of UVA, UVB (whole body chamber and panel) as well as targeted phototherapy devices (spot, excimer light).

2. IP Ward
   We have 40 bedded IP functioning in ward 8. All faculties and residents are actively involved in IP care.

3. Dermatosurgery and procedures
   We perform dermatosurgical procedures 5 days a week. We perform around 3500 procedures annually. Common procedures done in the department are electrosurgery, cryotherapy, radiofrequency sugery,chemical peeling, iontophoresis, platelet rich plasma therapy. We are also equipped with long pulsed Nd YAG laser, Intense pulsed light, Q switched Nd: YAG laser, ablative and fractional carbon dioxide lasers, and Intense Pulsed light device. We perform vitiligo surgeries like punch grafting, blister grafting and melanocyte keratinocyte transplant with excellent results post surgery. We also do diagnostic procedures like skin biopsy and nail biopsy. Nail surgeries are also done. We also do excision of skin lesions and chemical cautery in indicated cases. We also offer dermaroller and microdermabrasion for scar revision, micromotordermabrasion, microneedling radiofrequency, including for disfiguring acne scars. Hypertrophic and keloidal scar reduction is also achieved by intralesional steroid injections, cryotherapy and lasers. There is provision for patch testing for the diagnosis of contact dermatitis. We have a nearly 900 square feet area developed for aesthetic dermatology procedures. It has one consulation room, three procedure rooms, a reception area and other necessary facilities for the patients and the staff.

4. Skin lab
   Skin lab functions on all OP days and performs specialized dermatological lab procedures such as Tzanck smear for diagnosing autoimmune vesiculobullous diseases and some viral infections, fungal microscopy of specimens from skin, hair and nail, tissue smear, slit skin smear for M. leprae, and dark field microscopy for treponemes. Results are obtained on the same day to hasten patient management. Around 10,000 investigations are done annually.

 

Equipments

1. Biopsy punches

2. Hyfrecator

3. Patch testing kits

4. Liquid Nitrogen cryo

5. Chemical peels

6. Puva chamber

7. NBUVB chamber

8. Laser for hair reduction

9. Laser for scar revision

10. Laser for pigment removal

11. Pulse oxymeter

12. Infusion pump

13. ECG

14. Crash cart

15. Whole body phototherapy unit

16. Other special equipments -intense pulsed light, excimer lamp, hand and foot phototherapy unit, spot NBUVB, microneedle radiofrequency, radiofrequency unit

 

Academic Activities

• Under graduate teaching
  The purpose of undergraduate training program is to make students competent to diagnose and treat common dermatologic conditions. The daily teaching activities include lectures on common dermatoses, outpatient posting to familiarize with various skin diseases, small group discussions, practical sessions on common investigations, observations of minor procedures, and case presentations. Continuous assessment using log book and end posting examinations are performed to equip students to meet future challenges effectively. Undergraduate students did Electives in dermatophytic infection, phototherapy and electrosurgery in our department.
• Post-graduate training
  The post-graduate course (MD Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy, under Kerala University of Health Sciences) commenced in the year 2010 with annual intake of a single student. In 2012, the annual intake was increased to 4 students. The MD course is recognized by the Medical Council of India (and NMC, now) and the recognition was renewed in 2017. Within a short period, the department has grown into a postgraduate training centre of national repute, winning several important national awards. By the end of 3 years of rigorous coaching, trainees gain a robust knowledge about the subject. They are also trained to perform common dermatosurgical procedures and specialized lab investigations. There are teaching programmes every day. There are journal clubs, seminars, short topic discussions, histopathology classes- each of them once every week, and clinical clubs twice a week. Clinico-pathologic conferences are held once a month with the co-operation of the department of pathology. There are sessions to review the progress of research including post graduate thesis, publications, and any cases of mortality or high morbidity once a month. There are monthly review sessions to appraise the functioning of the clinics of Hansen disease and STIs.
• Extended Services
  All the faculties in the department have been frequently invited as speakers and resource persons in various conferences, CMEs and workshops at state and national levels. They have also been taking up additional responsibilities in institutional research committee, institutional review board, various university boards and committees, organizational as well as academic responsibilities in the professional association (IADVL), and as members of editorial boards and peer reviewers of reputed medical journals. Many of them have held additional administrative responsibilities in the institution during the Covid pandemic too.
• Research and Publication
  The department of Dermatology &Venereology takes up research and publications very earnestly and seriously. The number of papers published by the department from its inception is more than 100. The number of research publications from the department has soared in recent years. Nearly 70 papers have been published during the last 6 years. Annual number of publications is around 10-15, during the last three years.  The papers are published in journals with high acceptability and impact factor and indexed by reputed agencies.
  
  More than 50 research projects have been completed by faculty members and residents of the department. Some of them are in relatively less explored areas such as in HIV, community dermatology, geriatric dermatology, medical education and qualitative research. The department has been a partner in multicentre research at the national level on dermatophytosis. It has projects on the pipeline through the multi disciplinary research unit of the institution.

 

Future plans

The department is moving into the following directions:

1.  To further consolidate its position as an academic centre of excellence. This will be done by addressing the core areas – teaching and research. While constantly trying to improve the quality of teaching, we also intend to take steps to advance the research further to the needy areas of our society. This will be done by being part of various multidisciplinary research teams, within and outside the institution.

2.  To improve the facilities for the ever-increasing demand from the public for dermatology care. We observe that the procedural part of dermatology is very costly and beyond the reach of common people in our society. We propose to provide state of the art care in dermatology procedures.

 

Succession List of Professor & HODs

No.	Name	From	To
1.	Dr. P.A.  Sarojini	01-01-1984	10-07-1984
2	Dr. Cynthia Papali	19-07-1984	13-06-1988
3	Dr. P. U. Asokan	13-06-1988	30-04-1996
4	Dr. B. Safiya	08-07-1996	19-06-1998
5	Dr. K. Abdul Latheef	19-06-1998	02-07-2002
6	Dr. P. K. Sreedevi	02-07-2002	30-11-2005
7	Dr.P. S. Mathew	22-02-2006	30-09-2006
8	Dr. V. Sreedevan	14-05-2007	31-05-2008
9	Dr. Beena Narayanan	13-04-2009	06-08-2016
10	Dr. N. Asokan	08-08-2016	13-03-2023
11	Dr Devi K	13-03-2023	continuing

 

Non-Teaching Staff

1	Mrs. Subi CT and Anudev	Laboratory technicians
2	Mrs. Sobha KV	Assistant leprosy officer
3	Mrs. Chithra VC	STI counsellor
4	Mrs. Sunila TC	Head nurse
5	Mrs. Umaiba KK	Nursing assistant
6	Mrs. Thankam	HDS clerk

 

Alumni

Dr. Neema Azeez Dr. Divya Nair Dr. Deepth iP Dr. Nadiya Rahman Dr. Radhika Varma Dr. Renu Venugopal Dr. Prizey Philip Dr. Pinky Salim Dr. Baby Shana Dr. Ajmal KV Dr. Ramesh Dr. Premjith Dr. Balaguru Dr. Gopika Sunil Dr. Vijesh Valsalan	Dr. Sruthy Chandran Dr. Snigdha Ram TP Dr. Neena Vijayan Dr. Jeevanandam P Dr. Sreelakshmy J Dr. Anncilla Jose Dr. Alaka J Mohan Dr. Shilpa Jithendran Dr. Pravitha PB Dr. Sneha Johny Dr. Alphonse Mathew Dr. Ramesh Mulimani Dr. Lincy Ninan Dr. Rakendu Rajeev Dr. Linza P Zachariah	Dr. Dhanya O T Dr. Shamsiya S Dr. Divya S Dr. Mansoor Ali Dr. Anita Abraham Dr. Sonali Dr. Laldin Thari Dr. Poornimambaa M Dr. Soni C Das Dr. Jensy K N