I would very much like to sincerely thank all my co‐contributors, whose expertise in specialist areas of dermatology has been invaluable in ensuring that this Seventh Edition is right up to date and written by experts in their field.
Dr Fiona Lewis has written a chapter on genital dermatology, which is a very valuable new edition to the ABC of Dermatology; genital disease can be a challenging area even for seasoned dermatologists, so her practical approach to the diagnosis/management of genital disease is hugely welcomed. Cosmetic procedures are increasing globally, with many more women and men undertaking rejuvenation procedures. This area of medicine remains a bit of a mystery to those of us who have only benefited from conventional medical training, so the addition of a chapter dedicated to cosmetic dermatology is fantastically helpful for all of us. Dr Emma Craythorne (alongside her skin cancer surgery work) has expertise in treating scars and performing cosmetic procedures and has written this new chapter on cosmetic procedures to give us an insight into what can be done and what the outcomes and pitfalls might be. Even if we don't practice cosmetic dermatology ourselves, patients may ask for our advice and we may also see patients with complications following procedures, so well informed is hopefully well prepared.
Tissue viability clinical nurse specialist Bernadette Byrne works alongside plastic surgeons, and they have contributed to her wound chapter in this Seventh Edition, so we can understand more about biological dressings, which are being increasingly used in challenging wounds. Bernadette has an impressive depth of knowledge as well as decades of experience managing literally thousands of complex wounds in patients from the outpatient setting to the intensive care unit. Her clinical practical approach is an invaluable guide to wound management in any setting.
Dr Saqib Bashir has taken over writing the chapter on lasers and photodynamic therapy and intense pulsed light from Alun Evans. Saqib has a huge wealth of expertise in using multiple different lasers and light devices. He has great skill in prudently treating patients with a variety of skin tones, and he brings this expertise and his high standards of care to the chapter.
Dr Aisling Ryan is a dedicated dermatology consultant with a wealth of expertise in medical dermatology, specifically in the rapidly expanding field of biological therapies. She has taken over writing the Formulary chapter from Karen Watson. Aisling helps keep us up to date with the new molecular targets for biological therapy, indications, outcomes and adverse events. In the future most of us will all be looking after patients who may be suitable for or already taking biological therapies, so this area is hugely important for all of us to keep us abreast of cutting‐edge medicine.
Dr John Ferguson has taken over the Skin and Photosensitivity chapter from me. He has developed an area of expertise in photobiology and had just joined the specialist clinic at St John's Institute of Dermatology. He has hugely enhanced this chapter with his detailed knowledge of how UV light can affect the skin.
A large proportion of the illustrations in the Seventh Edition of the ABC of Dermatology comes from King's College Hospital, London, UK. I am indebted to the medical photography department at King's for their very professional, high‐quality clinical images, without which this book would be of little use. Many of the images in the hair and scalp, genital and cosmetic chapters have been provided by the St John's Institute of Dermatology, St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK. Dr Stephen Morris‐Jones, consultant in Infectious Diseases, University College Hospital, London, UK, provided some of the cutaneous infection images and we have retained some of Dr Barbara Leppard's photographs in the tropical dermatology chapter that she took whilst working in Africa. Bernadette Byrne and the Plastics Team at King's College Hospital, London, UK, have provided the wound chapter photos in addition to some photographs retained from previous editions which come from the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy and Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, Fife, the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh and from Paul Buxton's own collection. Dr Jon Salisbury, a consultant histopathologist at King's College Hospital, London, UK, provided all the histopathology images to demonstrate cutaneous disease at the cellular level and Dr Edward Davies, consultant immunologist at King's College Hospital, London, UK, provided the direct immunofluorescence images of the skin in immunobullous disease.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all my Dermatology colleagues at King's College Hospital who diagnosed and managed many of the patients you will see in the illustrations in this Seventh Edition. I would specifically like to thank Dr Daniel Creamer, Dr Sarah Walsh, Dr Saqib Bashir and Prof Roderick Hay and Dr Tanya Basu.
I am especially indebted to all the patients for consenting to include their clinical images in the ABC of Dermatology to help us to demonstrate the features presenting in a multitude of skin/nail and hair disorders far better than any written description would do.