LAS VEGAS –
Dr. Michael S. Baggish
In a presentation at the Pelvic Anatomy and Gynecologic Surgery Symposium, Dr. Baggish ran through some tips about diagnosing and treating vulvar conditions. He discussed routine disorders (such as pubic lice), potentially dangerous disorders (such as lichen sclerosis, an inflammatory skin condition that can develop into squamous cell carcinoma), and rare disorders (such as Behçet’s syndrome, an inflammation of the blood vessels that can cause genital sores, and Fox-Fordyce disease of the vulva, which produces intense itching).
Dr. Baggish, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who treats patients in the Wine Country town of Saint Helena, elaborated on the treatment of vulvar disease in an interview at the meeting jointly provided by Global Academy for Medical Education and the University of Cincinnati. Global Academy and this news organization are owned by the same company. The following are a few of his tips for gynecologists who want to expand their expertise and treat more patients with vulvar disorders.
- Get training in pathology. “That has made a big difference in my ability to intercept different kinds of vulvar and skin diseases,” he said. “You also need to see a lot of abnormalities so you can recognize the kinds of changes that you’re seeing.”
- Take a closer look with a microscope. “I have an operating microscope like an ophthalmologist would use, and it’s on a stand, not a table,” he said. “It always provides magnification with good light. This is a big advantage because misdiagnoses can be made when you can’t see the lesion well.” He added that he projects what he sees in the microscope onto a monitor so the patient can take a look herself. “I’ve found that very valuable,” he said.
- Be alert for chemical burns. “I’ve seen chemical burns when patients have had fungal infections and treated it with certain topical treatments like gentian violet. Somebody may also get a chemical burn from putting some kind of deodorant on their vulva,” Dr. Baggish said. “If you have a chemical burn, you’ll want to treat it with a cream to cover the lesion until it heals on its own. Silvadene is soothing, and patients find it very comfortable.”
- Get the right kind of biopsy. If you can’t identify a lesion, he said, “it’s better to do a biopsy.” He recommends asking pathologists for a reticulum stain. “It shows the support structure of the underlying tissue in the dermis of the layers of the skin, like the structure of a building before you put the covering on the girders,” he said. “The support structure is broken up in lichen planus [a common inflammatory condition that affects the skin and mucous membranes and can cause pain and itch]. You see that if you do a reticulum stain.” If a patient has an inflammatory condition, ask for relevant stains, he said. “For example, if there’s a question that this could be a viral disease like herpes simplex, I’m going to ask them to do a stain for viral inclusions,” he said. “Likewise, I will always ask for a stain for fungal particles, for yeast particles. Sometimes I’ll pick up something like an infection I otherwise would have missed.”
- Contact a specialist when needed. If a biopsy doesn’t help you identify a lesion, he said, “seek out an expert in this area who could be helpful.”
A number of gynecologists like Dr. Baggish specialize in vulvar disease, and several medical centers in the United States operate specialized vulvar clinics including Oregon Health & Science University, Portland; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Saint Louis University.
Dr. Baggish said he had no disclosures.