2025 Annual Conference Recording - Complications

Biography: Dr. Christine C. Dierickx, MD, received her M.D. degree from the medical school program of the University of Leuven, Belgium and completed a dermatology residency at the same university. She then developed clinical expertise in phlebology during a two-year fellowship with Professor Neuman in the Netherlands. Subsequently, she finished a clinical laser fellowship with Dr. R. Fitzpatrick in San Diego, California, and a Mohs fellowship with Dr. F. Mohs in Madison, Wisconsin. During a two-year laser fellowship with Dr. R. Rox Anderson at Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard University, she developed research laser expertise in various fields. The projects on vascular lesions draw directly upon her research on the thermal relaxation time of ectatic blood vessels. She established the need of millisecond laser pulses for the treatment of vascular lesions and showed that the formation of gentle cavitations driven by a slow photothermal process underlies the destruction of blood vessels with the longer millisecond laser pulses. For this work, she received the Best Basic Science Award of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery. Subsequently, she became a full-time staff member of the Wellman Laboratories at Harvard. During this time, she conducted research projects with long pulsed ruby and diode lasers for hair removal. She returned to Europe in early 1999, where she is currently in private practice in Luxembourg. She served as Vice president for the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery in 2006-2007. In 2013 she was the recipient of the Vasant Orwal Oration van de British Medical Laser Society. In April 2016 she received the Leon Goldman memoriam award from the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery. She continues to be involved in the development of new applications for energy-based devices as well as new applications for photodynamic therapy. Dr. Dierickx has published and lectured nationally and internationally in the field of laser surgery and photodynamic therapy.

Dr. Thomas E. Rohrer, a dermatologic surgeon, is one of the nation’s leading experts in both cosmetic and surgical dermatology. He has been the president of both the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) and sited as one of the Top 20 Dermatologists in the country by Newsweek Magazine.

Dr. Rohrer has given well over 500 lectures nationally and internationally and has published in numerous dermatologic and cosmetic surgery journals and textbooks. Dr. Rohrer is the editor of six cosmetic, laser, and surgical textbooks.

Along with his partners, Drs. Arndt, Dover, and Kaminer, Dr. Rohrer co-directs three fellowships each year which focus on all aspects of dermatologic surgery. Together they have graduated over 70 well-trained dermatologic surgeons who have gone on to exceptional careers across the country.

Dr. Rohrer has also been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the Association of Academic Dermatologic Surgeons, the American College of Mohs Surgery, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS). Dr. Rohrer has received multiple presidential citations from the AAD, the ASLMS, and the ASDS.

Dr. Jacqueline Watchmaker is a Board-Certified Dermatologist who practices medical, procedural and cosmetic dermatology. She currently practices at the Center for Aesthetic and Laser Medicine, Scottsdale. Dr. Watchmaker is originally from Wisconsin and earned her medical degree from Medical College of Wisconsin. In medical school she was elected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Following medical school, she completed a one-year internal medicine internship where she was selected as the “Best Intern” for her year. She then completed dermatology residency at Boston University in Massachusetts where she served as chief resident during her final year.

Following residency Dr. Watchmaker was accepted to a Laser and Cosmetic Dermatology fellowship the at Skincare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. In fellowship she developed expertise in the use of injectable fillers, neuromodulators, lasers and other energy-based devices for the treatment of many conditions including rosacea, acne, birthmarks, scarring, ageing skin, cellulite, hair loss and melasma.

Dr. Watchmaker has written multiple book chapters and published many research papers in peer-reviewed medical journals. The majority of her research focuses on the use of lasers in dermatology. Dr. Watchmaker has presented at many national and international meetings including the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, International Society of Dermatology, World Congress of Dermatology and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

David M. Ozog, currently serves as Chair, Department of Dermatology and holds the C.S. Livingood Chair in Dermatology, at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. He is also an active Mohs surgeon and Director of Cosmetic Dermatology. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan where he was a James B. Angell 4.0 GPA Scholar, completed post baccalaureate work at Bryn Mawr in Philadelphia and his medical degree from University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, New York, where he was awarded AOA honors society. He completed his dermatology residency at Henry Ford Hospital, in Detroit, where he served as Chief Resident. His Mohs, Cosmetic and Procedural fellowship was with Dr. Ron Moy at UCLA Medical Center and Moy-Fincher Medical Group, in Beverly Hills, CA. He has published more than 90 articles and book chapters and has given hundreds of lectures nationally and internationally in various facets of procedural dermatology. His textbook, co-edited with Joel Cohen, Botulinum Toxins: Cosmetic and Clinical Applications, was published in 2017. Dr Ozog has directed sessions at the American Academy of Dermatology's annual meeting for several years. He was a member of the AAD coding committee, and he currently serves on the AAD Scientific Assembly Committee for a six-year term. He is scheduled to chair both Summer and Annual AAD meetings. He is also an editorial board member of JAMA Dermatology and an assistant editor of Dermatologic Surgery. His active research interests include cutaneous oncology, scarring prevention and treatment, botulinum toxins, as well as laser delivery for cosmetic and malignant conditions. He has trained more than 76 residents in dermatological surgery and was chosen by the residents as “Teacher of the Year.” Dr Ozog has taught hands on workshops nationally for the American Society for Dermatological Surgery, and he is co-director of the cadaver lab at Henry Ford. He enjoys biking and spending time with his wife Dawnmarie and their three children. Although his research group successfully pivoted to COVID work during the pandemic, he is thrilled to return to lasers and oncology, leaving spike proteins behind (hopefully forever).

Merete Haedersdal, MD, PhD, DMSc is a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and director of the Danish Research Center for Skin Cancer. She is a visiting scientist at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, focusing on the project “Laser-Assisted Drug Delivery” in collaboration with Dr. R. Rox Anderson and his team. Dr. Haedersdal received her MD degree from the Medical School program of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and was authorized as a specialist in dermato-venereology in 2004. Dr. Haedersdal received her PhD degree in 1997 and became Dr. of Medical Science in 1999. Her theses covered aspects of side effects from dermatological laser procedures in animal and human experimental studies. Professor Haedersdal has published more than 250 scientific papers and lectures internationally. Her research team focuses on translational medicine in the field of lasers and energy-based devices in dermatology, imaging-guided procedures, fractional laser-assisted drug delivery, photodynamic therapy, and treatment of skin cancer with light-based devices in combination with topically applied drugs.

Brian S. Biesman, MD, FACS, is the Director of his practice in Nashville, Tennessee, where he is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Department of Ophthalmology. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis.
Dr. Biesman earned his medical degree at the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He completed an ophthalmology residency at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago, Illinois. He then completed a fellowship at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital in New York City. He returned to Illinois to serve as chief resident of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Biesman has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals and has lectured extensively throughout the country. His research interests include optimizing and expanding the use of existing soft tissue fillers, exploring novel injectable fillers, optimizing energy-based devices for aesthetic applications, developing and testing novel energy-based devices, developing and testing cosmeceuticals, and developing combination therapy techniques for rejuvenation of the body and face. He also is actively pursuing novel treatments for acne, hyperhidrosis, syringomas, xanthelasma, and other dermatologic disorders. He is a principal investigator in many industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical trials and has published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature.
Dr. Biesman is a member of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS), the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, among others. He has been recognized for his Excellence in Education by the ASLMS and received the Henry Baylis Lectureship Award from ASOPRS.

Arisa E. Ortiz, M.D. is the Director of Laser and Cosmetic Dermatology, and an Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego.  She received training in Mohs Micrographic Surgery at UC San Diego and also completed the prestigious cosmetic and laser fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Wellman Center for Photomedicine. Dr. Ortiz completed her dermatology residency training at UC Irvine and Beckman Laser Institute. She has authored over fifty publications and several book chapters. Dr. Ortiz also coedited a textbook on surgical reconstruction. She has presented at international and national conferences and is frequently an invited speaker at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS). She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine and has won several awards including the Top Doctors Award, and Exceptional Women in Medicine, ASLMS Best of Session Award for Cutaneous Applications, the ASLMS research grant, and the ASDS Cutting Edge Research Grant. Dr. Ortiz has also served as the President of the San Diego Dermatologic Surgery Society and is serving on the ASLMS Board of Directors. Her research interests are in laser treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer.