Sunscreen, In-Office Dispensing, Surgery Debated at Annual Dermatology Meeting

The patient in this ink and pastel drawing by New Orleans artist May Lesser is undergoing photopheresis for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. This drawing and others showing recent advances in dermatology at Tulane University Medical Center were on exhibit at Tulane's alumni reception at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. The work is one of more than 1500 drawings, paintings, and etchings of medical scenes Lesser has made during the past 30 years, creating a rich pictorial history of physicians at work. Ten of Lesser's works have been featured on JAMA covers. Lesser used soft pastels in this drawing, she said in an interview, to convey her sense of the patient's fragility. She jots notes as she works and afterward, including details of the medical procedure, events that preceded or followed the drawing, and her impressions of the scene and its emotional valence. Here, the nurse sat with the patient and his wife for the 3 hours needed for the plasma exchange, providing solace and hope. Lesser's work and commentary may be viewed at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/lesser/lesser_1.html; http://www.tulane.edu/≈lesser/; and http://www.usc.edu/hsc/nml/artist_gallery/. (Credit: May Lesser)

The patient in this ink and pastel drawing by New Orleans artist May Lesser is undergoing photopheresis for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. This drawing and others showing recent advances in dermatology at Tulane University Medical Center were on exhibit at Tulane's alumni reception at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. The work is one of more than 1500 drawings, paintings, and etchings of medical scenes Lesser has made during the past 30 years, creating a rich pictorial history of physicians at work. Ten of Lesser's works have been featured on JAMA covers. Lesser used soft pastels in this drawing, she said in an interview, to convey her sense of the patient's fragility. She jots notes as she works and afterward, including details of the medical procedure, events that preceded or followed the drawing, and her impressions of the scene and its emotional valence. Here, the nurse sat with the patient and his wife for the 3 hours needed for the plasma exchange, providing solace and hope. Lesser's work and commentary may be viewed at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/lesser/lesser_1.html; http://www.tulane.edu/≈lesser/; and http://www.usc.edu/hsc/nml/artist_gallery/. (Credit: May Lesser)