Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy, KMC Manipal

About the Department

The Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy was established in 1970 and permission to start postgraduate courses were obtained from the regulatory body in 1979-80. Since its inception, the department has been contributing significantly in the training of undergraduate and postgraduate students of KMC Manipal in the diagnosis and management of skin disorders. The postgraduate course attracts trainees from all over the country owing to the advanced diagnostic and therapeutic facilities available, guideline-based approach in the management of dermatological disorders coupled with robust teaching and research activities. In addition, the department is known for its excellent patient care and research activities. The department is well-equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as immunofluorescence (IMF) laboratory, phototherapy unit and laser clinic.

The department is well known for its phototherapy facilities; the department is equipped with whole range of UVA, UVB (both whole body and hand & feet unit) as well as targeted phototherapy. Besides this, our institution is the only centre providing the facility of “Bath-PUVA” therapy which is highly effective treatment modality for psoriasis. Another feather in the cap is the state of art immunofluorescence (IMF) laboratory in the department; ours is the only department in the entire country where IMF microscopy is being performed in the dermatology department. It has been established as the referral laboratory for the entire country as we receive specimens for testing from dermatologists practicing across India. Both these unique facilities provide ample opportunities for resident students to gain sufficient knowledge and competency in these two areas from our experienced faculty as these facilities are not available at all centres.

Aesthetic dermatology is ever growing subspecialty of dermatology. A range of advanced cosmetic and laser procedures are being performed on a daily basis. These include chemical peels, platelet rich plasma therapy and a range of LASER procedures to treat acne scars, hair reduction, and tattoo/ mole removal to name a few.

Psychodermatology is another subspecialty of dermatology; patients with chronic skin disease are often at tremendous stress induced by their skin disease. To cater to this subgroup of patients, the department is successfully running a unique liaison clinic every week with colleagues from psychiatry and clinical psychology.

The faculties in the department are experienced with vast knowledge in their specialty; besides they have keen interest and required expertise in various subspecialty. This has been recognized by Indian association of dermatologist, venereologist and leprologist (IADVL) which has chosen KMC Manipal as the centre to offer fellowship to its members in the field of phototherapy and IMF.

Thus the residency program at KMC, Manipal is structured in such a way so that it offers the best facilities to the trainees in a range of diagnostic, therapeutic and research fields which will benefit in their future endeavors.

Adjunct faculty

Dr C R Srinivas felicitated by Dr Sathish Pai

Dr. C. R. Srinivas, Professor and Head, Department of Dermatology at Kalinga Institute of Medical sciences, Bhubaneshwar visited our department on 30^th March 2019. He delivered guest lecture on Photodermatitis. He also visited the department in September 2019 and gave us his expert views on the topic “Approach to dermatological disorders”.

Dr Archana Singhal, Director Professor, Department of Dermatology at University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi visited the department in August 2019. She delivered a guest lecture on “Nail surgeries & Basic dermatology”.

Dr Archana Singhal delivering a guest lecture during her visit to the department.

Dr Paschal D’Souza receiving token of appreciation from Dr Shruthakirthi D Shenoi.

Dr Paschal D’Souza, Director Professor and Head of Department of Dermatology at ESI PGIMSR & Model Hospital, New Delhi, visited our department as an Adjunct faculty on 16^th & 17^th May, 2019. He gave a talk on “Cutaneous Tuberculosis” and clinical case discussion with post graduates were conducted during his visit. He also visited the department in August 2019 and delivered a guest lecture on “Irritant Contact Dermatitis & Deep fungal infections”.

Ph.D Awarded/Ongoing

S.No.	Name of the student	Co-Guide:	Title of PhD Research study	Collaborating Institute	Year
1	Swapna S	Dr. Sathish Pai B	Cost Effectiveness Analysis of various treatment regimens among Psoriasis Patients using Markov Model	KMC, Manipal	2013
2	K Ganesh Shenoy	Dr. Sathish Pai	Exploring scientific evidence for Siddha interventions used in the management of Psoriasis: pre-clinical (safety and efficacy profiles) evaluation of two popular Siddha formulations	Melaka Manipal Medical College, MAHE	2017
3	Sathvik Upadhya	Dr. Raghavendra Rao	Interrogation of Vitiligo Genesis - Cellular and Molecular Analysis through iPSC	SOLS, MAHE, Manipal	2018
4	Nayak Deeksha Dayanand	Dr. Sathish Pai B	Clinical and patient-reported outcomes in patients receiving Siddha standard of care and allopathic standard of care for psoriasis: A prospective cohort study	Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal campus)	2019
5	Sudhakara Upadya P	Dr. Sathish Pai B	Skin disease classification based on rash images using machine learning and deep learning techniques	School of Information Sciences, Manipal.	2020
6	Manjula	Dr. Smitha Prabhu S	Cosmeceuticals: A study on Impact of Advertisements, Adverse reactions and proposed concepts of cosmetovigilance system in Indian context	MCOPS, MAHE, Manipal	2020

https://manipal.edu/mu/academics/phd.html

Services Offered

Diagnostic facilities

· Routine microscopy- Gram staining, ZN staining, Giemsa stain

· Potassium hydroxide mount

· Dark ground microscopy

· Trichogram

· Skin/ nail biopsy (punch/incisional)

· Immunofluorescence microscopy

Therapeutic facilities

· Ellman’s Radiofrequency

· Conmed Surgitron

· Cryotherapy

· Chemical peels

· Intralesional and intramatricial injections

· Iontophoresis

· Phototherapy (Waldman/ Daavlin) – UVA, UVB, (both whole body as well as hand and feet unit) & Targeted UVB therapy

· PRP and PRF therapy

· Micro needling

· Skinnovation’s MNRF

· Lumenis diode laser for hair reduction

· Fractional CO2 laser

· Vitiligo and nail surgeries

Research

No	Title of the Research study	Investigators	Funding Agency	Duration of the project
1	Comparison of conventional indirect immunofluorescence with bio chip mosaic slide in the diagnosis of autoimmune bullous disorder – A cross sectional study	Dr. Raghavendra Rao, Dr Punya Suvarna,	IADVL	Ongoing
2	Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) genotyping in women with Condyloma acuminata. A cross-sectional, hospital based study	Dr Smitha Prabhu	IADVL	Ongoing
4	ALK20-SPI2 Phase III Clinical Trial on Acne Vulgaris	Dr. Sathish Pai B, Dr Sudhir Nayak	Alkem Lab	Ongoing
5	Diagnostic utility of Lupus Band Test (Non lesional, sun protected skin) in Systemic lupus erythematosus	Dr. Raghavendra Rao Dr Sujitha Reddy	IADVL	Ongoing
7	Clinical study protocol of Methotrexate Tablet USP 2.5mg under fasting conditions.	Dr. Sathish Pai B Dr. Smitha Prabhu	Ricon Pharma	Completed
8	Safety and efficacy of bioactive formulation for reducing under eye dark circles and eye puffiness	Dr. Sathish Pai B Dr. Shricharith Shetty		Completed
9	A Prospective Clinico-Mycological Study Of Recurrent /Resistant Cutaneous Dermatophytosis In Adults In A Tertiary Care Hospital	Dr Shrutakirthi D Shenoi, Dr. Smitha Prabhu, Dr. Malcom Puthu Noronha	Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited	Completed
10	A Prospective Clinical Study Of Nail Disorders In A Tertiary Care Hospital	Dr Shrutakirthi D Shenoi, Dr Sudhir Nayak UK, Dr. Sandhiya Ramesh	IADVL	Completed
11 12	A Prospective Study Of Serrated Pattern Analysis By Direct Immunofluorescence Microscopy In Subepidermal Autoimmune Blistering Diseases Assessment of Immuno-metabolic Axis of Autoimmune Blistering D iseases (AIBDs) – Mechanistic and Diagnostic Implications	Dr. Raghavendra Rao, Dr. Sukriti Arora Dr Raghavendra Rao, Dr Kiran	IADVL IADVL	Completed Ongoing

Publications

1. Bhatia S, Goyal S, Ballambat SP, Pai K, Pai M. Aretrospective Analysis of Whatsapp as a Mode of Teledermatology: A need of the present bringing in a Newer Consultation mode in Future.Clin Dermatol Rev 2023;7:24-30.

2. Muralidharan K, Rao R. Antinuclear antibody-negative systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Dermatol Rev 2023;7:120-3.

3. Prabhu SS, Goyal S. The primary psychiatric conditions: Clinical characteristics. Clin Dermatol Rev 2023;7:319-26.

4. Goyal N, Prabhu SS. Stress and common dermatological disorders: The psychophysiological dermatoses. Clin Dermatol Rev 2023;7:327-32

5. Sil A, Das A, Patra AC, Kumar R, Pandhi D, De D, Kolalapudi S, Bhari N, Gupta N, Rao R, et al. Impact of COVID‑19 pandemic on dermatology teaching program in India: A survey on the faculty and residents’ perspective. Indian Dermatol Online J 2023;14:643-52

6. Vasudev MB, Ballambat SP, Shetty VM. A study on knowledge, attitude, and practice related to sexually transmitted infections among students of nonmedical background in Manipal, India. Indian Dermatol Online J 2024;15:39-44Dayanand, N.D., Amuthan, A., Ballambat, S.P. et al. Indian Traditional Treatments for Psoriasis: A Critical Appraisal of Available Evidence Supporting Efficacy. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 29, 69–73 (2023).

7. Hegde S N, Kayarkatte M N, Nayak SUK. Complications of personal protective equipment in the general population through the dermatologists’ eye: A questionnaire-based study .Journal of Pakistan Association of Dermatologists.2023;33(2):454-458. 454

8. Singh S, Kirtschig G, Anchan VN, Chi CC, Taghipour K, Boyle RJ, Murrell DF. Interventions for bullous pemphigoid. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Aug 11;8(8):CD002292

9. Jindal A, Rao C, Pai SB, Rao R. Utility of oral mucosa as a substrate for the serodiagnosis of pemphigus: A descriptive analysis. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2022;88:156-161

10. Nayak M, Sreedhar D, Prabhu SS, Ligade VS. Dermatological research in India: A brief bibliometric analysis of publications during 1999–2019. J Cutan Aesthet Surg 2022;15:77-81

11. Ravindran S, Pai B S, Shetty VM. Risk of cutaneous carcinogenesis with phototherapy in Indian subpopulation: A 10-year analysis and a review of literature. Dermatol Ther. 2022;35:e15536

12. Pai SB, Suvarna P, Shetty VM, Pathan S.Efficacy of 810 nm diode laser in hair reduction in Indian subpopulation using a novel Gabor filter-based detection software and hair algorithm. J. Cosmet. Dermatol. 2021;00:1– 9.

13. Shetty VM, Shanmukhappa AG, Nataraj HV, Aradhya SS. Hair loss in children: A clinicoetiological study from South India. Int J Trichol 2021;13:17-25

14. Ravindran S, Prabhu S, Nayak SUK. Topical steroid damaged skin: a clinicoepidemiological and dermatological study. J Pak Assoc Dermatol 2021;31:407-14

15. Shenoy G, Shenoy S, Pai SB, Kumar N, Amuthan A, Shetty M,Rao M,Rao BK. Long term toxicity study of a Siddha formulation Vetpalai thailam (VT) in Rats. Research J. Pharm.and Tech 2021; 14:6653-6658

16. Upadya SP, Sampathila N, Hebbar H, Pai SB. Machine learning approach for classification of maculopapular and vesicular rashes using the textural features of the skin images. Cogent Engineering,2021; 9:1, 2009093,

17. Bhat S, Amirthalingam M, Ballambat SP, et al. Novel bioactive formulation derived from the conditioned medium of mesenchymal stromal cells reduces under-eye dark circles in human volunteers. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021;00:1–13.

18. Arora S, Shetty VM, Rao CR, Pai SB, Rao R. Serration pattern analysis as a practical adjunct tool for categorization of subepidermal autoimmune blistering diseases. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2021;87:778-86.

19. Rao R, Shetty VM. Utility of Immunofluorescence Antigen Mapping in Hereditary Epidermolysis Bullosa. Indian J Dermatol 2021;66:360-5.

20. Nayak M, Prabhu SS, Sreedhar D, Ligade VS. Global Trends on Use of Cosmetics During Pregnancy: A Bibliometric Analysis of Literature Published During 1962-2021. Online J Health Allied Scs. 2021;20:8

21.Singh R, Prabhu SS, Balachandran C, Pai K. Acquired palmoplantar keratodermas: A study of clinical, histopathological and patch test findings. J Pak Assoc Dermatol 2020; 30: 388-395

22.Kaur GJ, Pai SB, Nayak SUK. Randomized double blinded placebo controlled comparative study of topical steroid plus bath PUVA versus bath PUVA and placebo cream. J Pak Assoc Dermatol . 2020; 30: 289-297

23. Basu K, De A, Karmakar S, Chatterjee C, Rao R, Bandopadhyay M. Role of Immunofluorescence antigen mapping in the diagnosis of Epidermolysis Bullosa - A rare genetic blistering disorder. International J Clin Diagnostic Pathol 2020;3:461-468.

24. Ghosh AP, Nag F, Biswas S, Rao R, De A. Clinicopathological and immunological profile of patients with cutaneous manifestations and their relationship with organ involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus attending a tertiary care center of Eastern India. Indian J Dermatol 2020; 65:22-8.

25. Ramesh S, Shenoi SD, Nayak SUK. Comparative efficacy of 10% sodium hydroxide, 88% phenol, and 90% trichloroacetic acid as chemical cauterants for partial matricectomy in the management of great toe nail onychocryptosis. J Cutan Aesthet Surg 2020;13:314-8.

26. Shenoi SD, Soman S, Munoli R, Prabhu S. Update on pharmacotherapy in psychodermatological disorders. Indian Dermatol Online J 2020;11:307-18.

27. Kumudhini S, Pai S, Rao C, Rao R. A comparative study of Michel's medium versus honey as a transport medium for skin specimens prior to direct immunofluorescence microscopy and antigen mapping. J Cutan Pathol. 2019;46:729–735.

28. Abbagani Surabhi, Kamath YS, Nayak SUK. A Study on Ocular Morbidity among Patients with Psoriasis Visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karnataka, Southern India. Ocular Immunology & Inflammation, 2019; 27: 531–534.

https://eprints.manipal.edu/view/subjects/DER.html