Dr. Dawn Hansen (center) pictured with Devin Smith, licensed aesthetician (left), and Dr. Jon Ward (right).
SKIN solutions
Dermatology Specialists of Mississippi offers expertise, advanced technology BY JENNIFER GENTILE
From treating dangerous cancers to common issues like warts and rashes, Dr. Dawn Hansen helps patients get comfortable in their skin. “My staff and I listen to the whole story and work with each patient to individualize their care for what makes sense for their specific needs and concerns,” says Hansen, a boardcertified internal medicine specialist. Hansen worked alongside Dr. John H. Phillips III at Dermatology Specialists of Mississippi — which was founded in 2015 — and continued caring for Phillips’s patients after his departure. The Biloxi-based practice is one of 20 Dermatology Specialists offices operating throughout four states. Dr. Jon Ward started the company with a single office in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2006. Now the company employs 250 people and sees nearly 200,000 patients each year. For her part, Hansen always has been driven to care for people “on the inside and outside.” A U.S. Air Force veteran, she completed her residency at Keesler Medical Center and a dermatology training course at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio while serving as Hospital Medical Director at Shepard Air Force Base. “I have known since the age of 4 that I wanted to be a doctor,” Hansen says. “Over the years, I also have developed a passion for educating others on the importance of annual skin screenings for the early detection of skin cancer and how we can all protect our skin from the damaging rays of the sun.” Besides treating an array of hair, skin and nail conditions, Dermatology Specialists also addresses cosmetic concerns,
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Hansen says – offering anti-aging solutions like Botox and fillers and laser treatments. The Aqua Medical Spa, which is physician-supervised and located on site, can help clients look and feel their best. Especially exciting, the doctor adds, is the addition of superficial radiotherapy (SRT), a non-surgical, in-office treatment for non-melanoma skin cancers. “During SRT, skin cancer is destroyed through repeated brief exposure to low-energy radiation over multiple sessions,” Hansen explains. “Penetrating below the surface of the skin, no deeper than 5 millimeters, this treatment targets only the skin cancer without harming the surrounding tissue.” To the best of her knowledge, Hansen says, hers is the only practice in the area offering this advanced technology, which boasts a 95 percent cure rate. Patients with vitiligo and eczema have had great success with XTRAC laser therapy, according to Hansen, with many seeing significant improvement and remission. Offering cutting-edge technology is just one more way Hansen and the practice are showing their commitment to serving locals of all ages. “The people of the Gulf Coast have a special demeanor that goes beyond Southern hospitality,” she says, “(which) makes doing business here feel more like sharing a life with family.”