Deeply Satisfying
At City Dermatology Skin Institute, Dr. Imran Amir and his staff offer a host of cutting-edge solutions to maintain the health and beauty of the skin.
As founder and director of City Dermatology Skin Institute, Imran Amir, M.D., derives a great deal of contentment from his work. He measures his success in the smiles of patients who exclaim how much better they look and feel after a minimally invasive procedure skin-rejuvenation procedure, as well as in the sighs of relief after completing a successful surgery to remove a cancerous lesion.
City Dermatology Skin Institute’s state-of-the-art medical facilities in Bensalem and Warminster offer an array of treatments to preserve the health and aesthetics of the skin. Dr. Amir and his highly skilled team ensure that patients receive the highest level of quality care and attention, whether those patients are looking to restore lost facial volume, regain a youthful glow, or address serious diseases that afflict the skin, including skin cancer.
“We come to work looking to help people,” he says. “Dermatologists deal with observations. It’s like detective work. You observe, diagnose, and then determine the best course of action.”
Over the course of one’s life, one’s skin changes, either due to genetics or environmental exposures, such as sun and wind. The cumulative effects eventually take their toll, particularly on the face. Combine those factors with the age-related reduction in the body’s ability to produce collagen and elastin, and the result becomes obvious over time: wrinkles, deep lines, and sagging facial skin.
To combat wrinkles between the eyebrows, crow’s feet beside the eyes, and forehead wrinkles and lines, Dr. Amir often administers injections of Botox or a comparable neuromodulator, such as Xeomin or Dysport. The injection temporarily paralyzes the muscles that contract and form the wrinkles and lines. Patients tend to see a smoothing effect in as a little as one to three days, and the effect can last as long as four months.
“Ninety-five percent of my patients who receive this are women, some as early as in their late 20s and mid-30s,” Dr. Amir says. “Now, if they’re living in Beverly Hills, they’re doing it in their mid-20s.”
Dr. Amir determines the course of treatment by assessing whether the facial lines are dynamic (Botox for between and around the eyes and on the forehead) or static (lasers for lines that appear without facial expression). Fillers can be applied to give thin lips a plumper, fuller look, and erase fine lines around the mouth.
City Dermatology Skin Institute also offers services to rejuvenate facial skin affected by age and sun damage. Skin rejuvenation aims to reduce the myriad facial lines, lighten areas of hyperpigmentation, and give skin a softer texture and healthier glow. Options include chemical peels, microdermabrasion, micro-laser peels, and IV vitamin therapies.
“Resurfacing triggers the internal healing,” Dr. Amir says. “It’s done with lasers and takes less than an hour. Healing time depends on the depth of resurfacing, but it’s usually three to seven days. Resurfacing is usually repeated every three to five years. If you live a healthy lifestyle and avoid the sun, it could last 10 years.”
Dr. Amir also offers a laser treatment called fractional resurfacing. By stimulating the skin’s renewal process, the treatment can reduce the appearance of fine lines and improve skin marred by acne scarring, aging, or sun damage.
“The laser beam is split into fractions as it strikes the skin, leaving the healthy areas between alone,” he explains. “This allows for lesser downtime because half of the area is unaffected, and the healthy tissue between also helps the affected areas heal faster.”
Dr. Amir also offers minimally invasive lifts of the neck and face, nonsurgical fat reduction by ultrasound, and radio frequency skin and muscle tightening. He also offers something known as the Vampire Hair Procedure for patients with thinning hair. The procedure involves drawing a person’s blood, extracting the healing and growth factors for processing, and then injecting the platelet-rich plasma into the scalp to improve the thickness and health of existing and surrounding hair.
While the aforementioned services deal with largely aesthetic concerns, skin cancer is quite different. Dr. Amir diagnoses more than 1,000 skin cancers a year, including more than 100 melanomas. While less common than basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma is more dangerous because of its ability to spread to other organs more rapidly if not treated at an early stage.
“I tell people not to wait if they see something,” Dr. Amir says. “The only way to diagnose correctly is to come in and see us if there’s a color change in a lesion or mole. It takes only five minutes to look at and one minute to biopsy. We treat most with micrographic surgery, something few dermatologists can do. I remove the cancer layer by layer right in the office and send it off to the lab. If we get it early, the estimated five-year survival rate is 99 percent.”
Regardless of the need, City Dermatology Skin Institute takes every measure to help patients look and feel their best. As a patient enters the Bensalem office, a supportive staff provides a friendly welcome. During COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Amir is taking utmost precautions to keep his patients and his staff completely safe. He and his staff wear the highest level of hospital-grade personal protective equipment and make sure that all who visit are fully protected. Patients have the option of waiting in their vehicles, to be called when their appointment time arrives, or taking a seat in a socially distanced seating arrangement in the beautifully lit waiting room, where they can listen to music available through Alexa, watch TV, read, or peruse their smartphones.
“As a physician, you always try to help people, but when you can restore someone’s healthy and vibrant skin, it gives them confidence and charisma,” Dr. Amir says. “It’s life changing for many people who may have become antisocial and remain in hiding. If I can improve their appearance, it improves their lives. If I can help someone solve a serious health concern, even better. For me, that’s deeply satisfying.”
About Dr. Amir
Dr. Imran Amir is board certified in dermatology and internal medicine. He received his dermatological training through the highly regarded program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. During his residency, he received the Stelwagon Award from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia for his outstanding research projects. He also received training in Mohs micrographic and reconstructive surgery and cosmetic dermatological surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Medical Center in New York City, a certification that enables him to treat most skin-cancer cases, as well as offer cutting-edge cosmetic procedures.
Dr. Amir has received Castle Connolly’s “Top Docs” honors over the past three years, and has made Philadelphia magazine’s “Top Docs” list in 2019 and 2020.
City Dermatology Skin Institute
(215) 305-8834 | www.cityderma.com
3260 Tillman Drive, Suite 120
Bensalem, PA 19020
234 Veterans Way, Suite 100
Warminster, PA 18974
Photography by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, November 2020.
