Visible Scars, Invisible Challenges

Dermatologic surgery is too often described as "minor surgery." Quick and office-based, it appears light and inconsequential. Yet behind this apparent simplicity lie considerable human challenges. Every incision leaves a scar, sometimes discreet, sometimes carrying heavy psychological, social, and identitarian consequences.
This book, dedicated entirely to the ethics of dermatologic surgery, explores the daily dilemmas faced by practitioners: how to inform patients who believe in scarless "miracle medicine"? How to announce a carcinologic diagnosis with tact and honesty? How to manage the constant tension between therapeutics and aesthetics? How to adapt care for vulnerable patients - deaf, elderly, disabled, children - without compromising their dignity?
Throughout its chapters, the author shows that ethics begins well before the gesture itself: with the first secretary's contact, with the physician's words, in the anticipation of disclosure, in the proportionality of decisions. Ethics extends beyond the consultation room, encompassing social justice, confidentiality, prevention, and even the physician's protection against burnout.
This book is intended for residents, dermatologists, plastic and maxillofacial surgeons, and for all practitioners committed to restoring ethics to the core of their practice. For in dermatologic surgery, there is no such thing as a "small gesture": every act engages a part of the patient's identity, and every scar tells a story.
A clear, humanist, and reflective manual, reminding us that the true strength of dermatologic surgery lies not only in the precision of the gesture, but also in the loyalty and humanity of the practitioner.