Jeremy A. Brauer, MD is a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, and an expert in lasers and Mohs micrographic surgery. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, graduating with Highest Distinction and named a Merrill Presidential Scholar. He earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, completing a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Research Fellowship and receiving the John Glick Prize for Translational Cancer Research.
Dr. Jeremy Brauer is undoubtedly a rising star in the field, due to his warm and fuzzy bedside manner and his way of communicating complex medical procedures that make patients feel comfortable. He is also a frequent lecturer around the world at major dermatology and cosmetic surgery congresses and is sought after to give presentations and workshops on his extensive research on new technologies and emerging therapies. His work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and now in private practice, research remains close to his heart. Dr. Brauer keeps himself very busy at his two practices in New York City with leading dermatologists Dr. Paul Frank and Dr. Ellen Gendler, as well as seeing patients in Rye, N.Y.
BITB spoke with Dr. Jeremy Brauer about his passion for dermatology and to get his insights on how to keep skin looking and feeling healthy.
1. Who or what inspired you to become a dermatologist?
While the specific specialties may have changed over the course of my life, I’ve known that I wanted to be a doctor from a very young age. Interestingly, dermatology was not a field that I considered until I was in medical school. Instead, I began my formal medical training thinking I would become a pediatrician. I have always loved children and working with children – something I quickly learned during my clinical rotations that I did not specifically need to be a pediatrician to accomplish. Through the various rotations and exposures to different fields of medicine and surgery I came to realize I liked having the ability to practice medicine and treat patients of all ages, to see relatively healthy but also ill patients, and to have the opportunity to perform surgery.
Dermatology offered the opportunity to do all of these things and more. In my practice I see and treat babies through geriatrics, address medical and aesthetic concerns, and perform Mohs micrographic surgery for skin cancer. I really believe that mentorship has been an extremely important part of my professional development as a dermatologist. I have been very fortunate to have great mentors, both informally in my friends and family, but also professionally inside and outside of dermatology – these people have all helped shape who I am as a person and physician.
2. For someone just starting to think about how not to age, what is the best advice you can offer in terms of maintenance and prevention?
I love this question because the answer is so much easier than people realize. Two things everyone can do to help with prevention and maintenance are (1) practice good sun safe behaviors – avoiding peak hours when engaged in outdoor activities, applying a broad spectrum UVA/UVB protective sunscreen, and wearing sun-protective clothing; and (2) applying a retinol/tretinoin-based product, as tolerated, in the evenings.
3. In your view, what are the most effective tools you have in your practice to turn back the clock and keep patients’ skin looking and feeling healthy?
In addition to the above, treatment of the aging skin – and then maintenance, specifically, requires an approach that addresses all of its components. This means recreating, and adding volume to, the underlying structures with injectable fillers such as Radiesse, Restylane and Belotero; tightening with non-invasive energy devices such as Thermage and Ulthera, resurfacing with both fractional non-ablative (Fraxel Dual, Clear & Brilliant, PicoSure with Focus, PicoWay with Resolve) and ablative (Fraxel Re:pair, CO2re, UltraPulse) lasers; use of additional lasers specific for the treatment of vascular (“red”; Vbeam and ExcelV ) and pigmented ( “brown”; PicoSure, Enlighten, PicoWay, Ruby) spots seen with aging skin; and treatment with neurotoxins (Xeomin, Botox, Dysport) for both the treatment of fine lines seen at rest as well as with intended motion.