current Projects
Patient-friendly compression therapy
Compression therapy is the mainstay of treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. However, at least 40% of patients are unable to don/doff (put on and off) or to constantly wear their compression stockings.
Our projects on patient-friendly compression therapy aim at enhancing patient comfort and adherence with this fundamental therapeutic tool.
Pathophysiology of Martorell hypertensive ischemic leg ulcer
Martorell HYTILU is the third common cause of chronic leg ulcers. Excrutiating pain and failure to heal are demoralizing and negatively impact quality of life.
Martorell HYTILU is totally underrecognized and underdiagnosed. Most common confounding concerns pyoderma gangrenosum, an entity that requires a diametrically different treatment approach.
Coworkers of the JH Rahn Foundation collected a large number of wound tissue and blood samples of concerned patients and controls, on which several research projects on the pathophysiology of Martorell HYTILU are now being carried out.
Research projects in general dermatology
Currently the following projects are underway:
Improving postsurgical scars with the fractional CO2-Laser
Psychosomatic triggers of chronic prurigo
Structured training in oncological dermatologic surgery
The staff team of the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zurich, continuously teaches all dermatology residents through a structured training in general and oncological dermatologic surgery. In Switzerland, every board-certified dermatologist is able to routinely and safely perform skin biopsies and excisions (small and large), and to repair small and medium-size excisional wounds after complete surgical clearing of skin cancer, i.e. after checking excisional margins, with Mohs micrographic surgery, or surgery according to the Tubingen method (slow Mohs on paraffin sections).
Structured training in oncological dermatologic surgery
The staff team of the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zurich, continuously teaches all dermatology residents through a structured training in phlebology and wound healing. This encompasses clinical assessment, examination of the ankle-brachial index with the cw-Doppler, venous mapping with duplex ultrasound, ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy and liquid sclerotherapy, assessment and debridement of chronic wounds, grafting techniques with skin substitutes, punch grafts, or split skin grafts.
Our main teaching project is to constantly standardize and optimize our practical training program in dermatologic surgery and phlebology/wounds.
future projects
Unfortunately, no future projects have been announced.