Description
Get to know Dr. Justin McLawhorn, a dermatologist and oncologist at the UAMS Cancer Institute. A Sherwood, Arkansas native and UAMS medical school graduate, Dr. McLawhorn shares why he chose dermatology — blending pathology, patient care, and surgery — and how he helps patients fight skin cancer every day. Dr. McLawhorn specializes in MOHS micrographic surgery to treat basal and squamous cell skin cancers, often in delicate areas like the face, hands, and feet. His unique approach allows him to not only remove the cancer but also repair the surgical wounds the same day, using advanced techniques — all under local anesthesia.
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Transcript
I’m Justin McLawhorn. I’m a dermatologist oncologist and I practice at the Cancer Institute at UAMS. I grew up in Sherwood, Arkansas, went to UAMS for medical school. I really found that I love dermatology because it was a combination of pathology, clinical interactions with patients and surgery. I treat skin cancers and I specialize in MOHS
micrographic surgery for the treatment of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers. Often times on the head, neck, face, hands, feet and groin areas. What makes me unique as a MOHS surgeon is that for many of my patients I can repair the patients surgical wounds the same day. So this involves the use of skin graphs, skin flaps, and even some complex reconstructions, all done with just skin numbing medicine without the need for OR or general anesthesia or being put to sleep. We can often times do this on the same day as MOHS surgery. So that not only are we curing skin cancer, we’re also completely fixing the wounds that we create all in the same day. One medical myth related to my specialty is that people of darker complexion don’t need sunscreen. That’s simply not true. Everyone needs sunscreen. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends an SPF of 30 or greater. In my spare time, I enjoy gardening, landscaping, and I love tinkering on cars. If I can take it apart and put it back together, that’s something that gets me through the day and gives me a lot of personal satisfaction.
