Dr. Thompson is a native of Texas.  After graduating from Georgetown University and Bowman Gray School of Medicine (currently Wake Forest School of Medicine), he completed his dermatology residency at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Thompson chose dermatology because of the breadth of the field.  "Dermatology draws on internal medicine, surgery, immunology and dermatopathology," he says.  Brown, his medical partner, echoes this sentiment and says he finds the scope of the specialty unique.

"Skin diseases really profoundly affect people's self-esteem," says Dr. Brown.  "Your skin is always on display for the entire world. Think of the consequences of severe acne on a teenager or the impact of psoriasis on any patient.  I see people of all ages with severe eczema who must cope on a daily basis with skin that is not visually normal."  Dr. Thompson insists that listening and talking with patients about their skin problems can be enlightening for both doctor and patient.  "Oftentimes it requires sleuth work to ferret out the cause of a rash," he says. Likewise he finds it vital to spend time with acne patients to make sure they understand what is causing their acne and how to get the best results from their medicines.

Of course, one of the most potentially devastating diseases dermatologists deal with is skin cancer.  Caused by a combination of genetic factors and excessive sun exposure, especially blistering sunburns, the incidence of skin cancer is increasing at an alarming rate.  Both Thompson and Brown treated patients with melanoma this past year.  "Whereas this most serious form of skin cancer used to be relatively uncommon, we now routinely see several patients a year with melanoma," says Thompson.  "If we catch it early there is a good prognosis for the patient.  We stress that people examine their skin on a regular basis for  unusual or changing moles and see a doctor if any doubt exists."

Fortunately ongoing research and technological advances are revolutionizing the treatment of skin disease.  The emergence of lasers to treat conditions as diverse as birthmarks and facial wrinkles has added a new dimension to dermatology's therapeutic tools.  Thompson and Brown were the first dermatologists in the Charlotte region to use lasers and currently devote most of their practice to laser surgery. Lasers can now remove hair, tattoos, wrinkles, acne scars, age spots, treat red faces and red necks, and oftentimes remove unsightly skin growths with no scarring.

Thompson has traveled throughout the world, including New Zealand, Australia, and the former Soviet Union, lecturing with the North American Clinical Dermatological Society.  These medical conferences provide opportunities to learn how medicine is practiced in other countries as well.

Brown, too, is an experienced traveler and finds foreign languages challenging.  A North Carolina native, he attended the North Carolina School of the Arts as a musician and graduated from Oberlin College with degrees in both music and German.  He then spent two years teaching music in a public school in Iceland where he also directed town and school choirs.  He then attended Yale University where he completed a master's degree in music.  After graduation, however, Brown answered a challenge that he had been mulling for years---medical school.  While at Yale he completed pre-med courses and then returned home for medical school at UNC.  He joined the practice of Charlotte Dermatology in 1992 and teamed up with Dr. Thompson in 1996.

Although his medical practice is demanding, Brown still travels as time permits.  This past year, while in Turkey, he came across a boy with a severe birthmark on his face.  "I realized that he would probably never get treatment for it in Turkey," he says, "so we decided to bring him over. We plan to treat him every two to three months for a couple of years, so this involves a lot of travel preparations for him." Dr. Brown hopes that a new laser can significantly lighten the port-wine mark that covers half of this boy's face.  Both Brown and Thompson say they are lucky because they get to treat patients of all ages.  And they are able to develop long-term relationships with their patients, many of whom they begin seeing as children.