Dermatology

Please find the following information on this page.

Greetings

Our department provides medical care for general skin diseases, including eczema, warts and athlete's feet, as well as diseases that are associated with skin symptoms, such as collagen diseases, skin cancer and genetic skin disorders.

Outline

Medical care system

General outpatients are seen in the morning on weekdays excluding Thursdays.
Our department has been actively promoting cooperation between clinics and the hospital, and employs a referral system.
New patients and patients returning for a consultation after a long interval are kindly requested to bring a referral letter from their regular doctors.
Specialist outpatient consultations depending on the day of the week are also only available by appointment.
Specialty outpatient clinics currently available at our department include a genetic counseling clinic (Wednesday afternoons), a skin surgery clinic (Thursday afternoons), a psoriasis clinic (Thursday afternoons) and a laser therapy clinic (Thursday afternoons), an autoimmune bullous disease clinic (Tuesday afternoons), an epidermolysis bullosa clinic (first and third Friday afternoons of each month) and the icthyosis/palmoplantar keratoderma clinic (second and fourth Friday afternoons of each month).

Treatment policy

Our department sees a wide range of skin diseases ranging from atopic dermatitis to malignant skin tumors, and specialist treatment is provided at individual specialist clinics.
Patients with malignant skin tumors and other serious diseases are hospitalized in the Dermatology ward, where specialist treatment is provided.
Inpatients who have completed the necessary tests and treatment for the acute stage in our hospital are referred to their regular hospitals, and medical care continues to be provided in collaboration with other medical institutions.

Areas of medical care

Skin inflammatory diseases (eczema, atopic dermatitis, plaque psoriasis, etc.), skin infections (athlete's feet, warts, etc.), skin tumors (benign tumors, skin cancer, etc.), genodermatosis (epidermolysis bullosa, ichthyosis, etc.), collagen diseases (SLE, dermatomyositis, etc.), autoimmune diseases (pemphigus, pemphigoid, etc.), and other diseases with skin symptoms

Consultation hours

Consultation hours in the morning are from 9:00 to noon. Reception for return visits without an appointment is until 11:00.
We try to maintain the schedule time for return-visit patients. If a patient’s condition deteriorates suddenly, however, you may have to wait longer. Thank you for your understanding.

Major tests and equipment

Tests

We perform general tests including allergy tests for allergic diseases and a mycosis test for athlete’s feet, as well as special tests including fluorescent antibody techniques and Western blotting tests for a diagnosis of bullous disease, electron microscopy, etc.
The genetic counseling clinic in our department serves as a permanent specialist clinic where genetic testing is conducted.

Equipment

The psoriasis clinic and the laser therapy clinic established in our department are permanent specialist clinics, where ultraviolet therapy with systemic ultraviolet irradiation equipment and treatment of bruises and benign skin tumors with various lasers are performed.

Medical care results

In our position as a university hospital, we have introduced the new approach of an educational hospitalization program for patients with atopic dermatitis.
During a short hospital stay, doctors and nurses cooperate to help patients understand their condition and learn correct skin care procedures besides providing specific treatment to the patients.
We are also engaged in a new psoriasis treatment using biologics, as well as regenerative medicine using cultured epidermis as well as the development of kits to predict a severe drug eruption as clinical studies from new perspectives.

Transition to a complete referral system in the Dermatology outpatient department

The Department of Dermatology at Hokkaido University has long promoted cooperation between clinics and the hospital. We have gone even further to introduce a complete referral system for fist-visit patients on October 1, 2012 to help patients who need highly specialized medical care.

First-visit patients without a referral letter have to first visit a private or general dermatologist to obtain a referral letter if specialist medical care is judged necessary.
A list of neighboring medical institutions may be handed to patients at outpatient reception if necessary. Patients deemed urgent cases are seen on the day even if they do not have a referral letter.
Patients seeking a consultation without an appointment after an interval of two years or longer are deemed as first-visit patients by the system of Hokkaido University Hospital.

This is a system that fully utilizes highly specialized medical care at a university hospital for patients who need it. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Staff of the Department of Dermatology at Hokkaido University, March 24, 2016

Change in the reception hours for return visits

Reception hours for return visits changed on October 1, 2012, and reception is now open until 11:00 a.m. However, patients with an appointment may check in after 11:00 a.m.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Staff of the Department of Dermatology at Hokkaido University, March 24, 2016