Pat, 70, Dublin, referral for facial discolouration

On Monday, August 24, Pat Conway of Coolkill, Sandyford, Dublin 18, was referred by his GP to DermView to check out some facial discolouration. Two days later, Pat (70) was contacted by DermView, which totally shocked him it was so quick. Pat was really impressed by a lady from DermView who explained step-by-step what was going to happen and told him their clinic was in Carrickmines just 10 minutes up the road.

For the first appointment, a nurse took photographs on both sides of his face. He was fascinated with the use of voice-activated technology. The quality of the pictures was astonishing. He could see the capillaries on his skin it was so clear. The nurse was very good explaining the procedure and what happens afterwards.

It was a really good experience and only took about 40 minutes. On Monday, September 7, he was contacted with another appointment for a procedure on September 10 in St James Hospital after Dr Barry reviewed his case and medical history. Dr Barry took out the melanoma using a 2-millimetre margin.

It took just 17 days from the time my GP sent a referral note to being on the table having it removed. That is magic. I was amazed by this time period.

“On October 2, I got the laboratory results during a consultation, which is a very quick turnaround. The whole DermView experience was very good with texts, emails and phone calls. There was a lovely free flow of information available all the time, so I wasn’t uptight about anything.

“If DermView wasn’t available, I could be waiting for six months even though I have private health insurance. It could be up to five years for a public appointment,” he said.

Pat’s story was first published on 3rd December 2020 in Irish Medical Times. You can read the original article here.