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An anonymous 9-question survey was composed and distributed to members of the Texas Dermatological Society to evaluate dermatologists' prescription of commercial tanning beds for treatment of certain dermatologic and other medical conditions and to seek opinions on whether commercial tanning beds are a legitimate medical therapy. Results show that although dermatologists agree recreational tanning should always be discouraged, some Texas dermatologists do occasionally recommend commercial tanning bed use for some conditions in patients who cannot afford traditional in-office phototherapy because they lack insurance or have high copays or for those patients who live in regions with limited access to in-office phototherapy or have significant barriers to coming into the clinic. Conditions for which patients are referred to commercial tanning beds include psoriasis, renal prurigo, atopic dermatitis, and mycosis fungoides.

A novel postauricular revolving door island flap and cartilage graft combination was employed to correct a large defect on the anterior ear of an 84-year-old man who underwent Mohs micrographic surgery for an antihelical squamous cell carcinoma. The defect measured 4.6 × 2.4 cm and spanned the antihelix, scapha, a small portion of the helix, and a large segment of underlying cartilage, with loss of structural integrity and anterior folding of the ear. The repair involved harvesting 1.5 cm(2) of exposed cartilage from the scaphoid fossa and then sculpting and suturing it to the remnant of the antihelical cartilage in order to recreate the antihelical crura. The skin of the posterior auricle was then incised just below the helical rim and folded anteriorly to cover the cartilage graft. The flap remained attached by a central subcutaneous pedicle, and an island designed using the full-thickness defect as a stencil template was pulled through the cartilage window anteriorly to resurface the anterior ear. This case demonstrates the use of the revolving door flap for coverage of large central ear defects with loss of cartilaginous support and illustrates how cartilage grafts may be used in combination with the flap to improve ear contour after resection.

The Dermatology Interest Group (DIG) at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) blog (digutmb.blogspot.com) was created in 2004 with the aims of increasing communication and collaboration among students, faculty, residents, and alumni, promoting educational opportunities, and fostering the missions for which DIG was created. This blog is unique, because its frequent activity is directed toward the educational and professional needs of medical students and residents. We assessed the use of this blog by evaluating the number of blog views and audience members with relationship to the number of posts and post content over time via a tracking system. We found that there has been an increase in blog posts, views, and subscribers, as well as in areas of post content including dermatology resources/news/articles, residency applications, and resident-related information. Usefulness of such posts expands beyond UTMB students, which increases blog views and widens viewer audience. An international viewer population also was evaluated. Recorded blog viewing time was 1 minute, 57 seconds, which is more time than needed to read a post, suggesting use of additional blog information. This review of the DIG at the UTMB blog demonstrates how the use of web-based tools, in addition to the inherent benefits of medical student interests groups, are valuable resources for students, residents, and faculty., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)