doctor in or near Delaware

[dmsmgl]

looking for a doctor in or near Delaware...a derm, rheum, or clinical immunologist...hopefully someone who knows something about lupus profundus...

anyone?

[Clare.T]

I'll ask mine if he knows of anybody suitable. He's in NYC by the way.

Cheers
Clare

[Clare.T]

Hi !

My doctor thinks that a second opinion would be a good idea because it isn't always easy to distinguish between lupus profundus and other things. He doesn't know of anybody specialised enough in Delaware
( and he would ). He suggests Dr V Werth at Penn Uni or himself in Manhattan - they are both top dermatologists specialising in the skin manifestations of connective tissue diseases.

He is also a board certified rheumatologist and internist.

By the way, it might not be worth mentioning, but when I described it to him he said he bet it was ?,something or another, I don't know what, and seemed really surprised when I told him LP had been diagnosed

Good luck - let us know how you get on please
Clare

[dmsmgl]

Wow Clare, thank you for asking.

I had been doing some checking around myself. It wasn't long before I decided I should either find a doc at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore or try Penn. Penn is about 20-30 minutes from my house. Hopkins is about an hour away from me. I used to live in West Philly, and I had friends that went to Penn, so I'm pretty familiar with the hospital and the area.

And actually, I just picked up a copy of my pathology report today, just so I would have it.

Microscopic Description:
There is a lobular and septal panniculitis with hyaline fat necrosis, and small nodular aggregates of lymphocytes and plasma cells in the subcutis.

Diagnosis:
Panniculitis (ICD9-729.39), biopsy. Please see comments.

Comments:
The histologic changes are highly suggestive of lupus erythematosus profundus. Clinical pathologic correlation may be of help.

I also got a copy of the CT scan report.

CT scan of pelvis shows stranding in the subcutaneous fat right lower quadrant. Underlying abdominal wall musculature and rectus muscle are uniform in caliber and contour and symmetric with that of the left side. No focal fluid collection in the subcutaneous tissues. No evidence of intra-abdominal soft tissue mass in the right lower quadrant. No adenopathy or free fluid within the pelvis.

Impression:
Stranding in the subcutaneous tissues right lower quadrant without underlying soft tissue mass, fluid collection or muscular lesion. Findings may be related to edema or contusion from trauma.