Southwest Michigan Dermatology

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Southwest Michigan Dermatology
7775 Angling Road
Portage, MI 49024
P: 269-321-SKIN (7546)
F: 269-321-1705

Welcome to Southwest Michigan Dermatology. This site is designed to familiarize you with our practice. We hope to help answer your questions and make your experience with our office a pleasant one.
Our purpose is to provide you with individual attention and excellent medical care for your dermatologic condition. Our physicians are fully trained dermatologists, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with conditions of the skin.


During your visit at Southwest Michigan Dermatology, you will meet physicians, physicianassistants, nurses, medical assistants andsupport personnel, all specially trained in the care of persons with dermatological conditions.

When your appointment is made, you will be notified of the time and place of your first visit.


You will need to complete a Welcome to Our Office patient information form and a Medical History form prior to your first visit. We can send them to you by mail or you can access the forms online and print them from your computer. Please complete these forms and bring them with you to your appointment. You will receive a copy of our Financial Policy when you arrive for your first visit. You will be required to sign an acknowledgement stating you have read it and understand it. You may access our Financial Policy before you arrive by clicking on the "access forms online" in this paragraph.

If you have insurance, please bring your cards.

Bring a list of questions to discuss with your provider.

If your insurance carrier requires prior authorization, please make sure it is done prior to your visit.


Your medical record is strictly confidential and will not be released to anyone outside our office without your signed authorization. If you wish to have a copy of your record sent to someone, you need to complete and sign an authorization form.

There may be a charge for making and sending copies of your records.


Routine calls are taken in our office between 8am and 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. Our clinical staff is trained to answer your questions and arrange for you to talk with your dermatologist when necessary.

Your telephone call is answered by our receptionist who will direct your call to the proper staff member.

Emergency Calls – a dermatologist is on duty at all times if a situation arises that must be handled immediately. When the office is closed, our answering service will contact the on-call physician.

Non-emergency calls received after 4pm typically will be returned the following business day.

Please obtain needed prescription refills during your visits to Southwest Michigan Dermatology. However, if you must obtain a prescription refill between visits, please call during normal business hours at least 24 hours in advance of your need for the refill.

Main Office (269) 321-7546

We are on staff at several area hospitals including Borgess Medical Center and Bronson Methodist Hospital. To better serve our patients from surrounding areas, we offer clinics in Paw Paw, Allegan and Three Rivers. All scheduling and billing for our outlying clinics is handled by our main office in Portage.


Certain information is needed to bill insurance for our services. The documents to bring with you include:

Your health insurance card(s), including health insurance company address and telephone number.
Your social security number.
Authorization for services, if needed. This includes authorization for workers’ compensation, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO’s), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO’s), etc.

We participate with many insurance companies. Please call our office to check if we participate with your health insurance provider, as this will affect your payment responsibility.

Light Sheer
There is a better solution for removing unwanted hair.
You may be surprised to learn that virtually your entire body is covered with hair. Because most of this hair is fine and pale, it usually isn’t visible to the naked eye.

But when darker, coarser hair appears in places which may make you uncomfortable –like on the face, neck, abdomen, breasts, legs or underarms in women or on the shoulders, chest and back in men—it may be time to consider hair removal with LightSheer diode laser.

Understanding hair removal.
In the past, the usual remedies for unwanted hair included plucking, shaving, waxing or chemical depilatories. Some are painful, some are messy and all are only temporary.

For long-term hair removal, electrolysis is popular and effective, but it is a time-consuming procedure, which can be painful and is useful only in removing hair in small areas. During electrolysis, an electric current passes through a needle to destroy each individual hair root. It typically takes months and numerous regular visits to clear even small areas, like the upper lip.

Laser hair removal is a more effective solution. The LightSheer diode laser is a state-of-the-art system specifically designed to remove unwanted hair faster, and with less discomfort and more reliably than other methods.

About LightSheer laser treatment.
A laser produces a beam of highly concentrated light. The light emitted by the LightSheer diode laser is well absorbed by the pigment located in hair follicles. During the procedure, the laser pulses for a fraction of a second, long enough to heat up the hair and significantly impede the follicle’s ability to re-grow. This process also treats numerous hair follicles simultaneously. Therefore, LightSheer is appropriate for treating even the largest areas of the body both quickly and effectively.

An important part of the procedure is the cooling of the skin. A special contact-cooling handpiece allows your physician to treat even the most sensitive skin. It protects and cools the upper layer of the skin before, during and after each laser pulse while directing the laser energy to the hair root.

What can you expect?
The length of a laser treatment may last anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more, depending on the size of the area being treated. It is important to know that the hairs in an active growth phase (referred to as anagen) are most affected by the laser. As all hairs are not in this phase at the same time, more than one treatment will be necessary to achieve the best result.

The laser treatment itself may cause some discomfort. Most patients tolerate the procedure well, but because some areas of the body are more sensitive than others, topical anesthesia can be an option.

The appearance of the treated area immediately following treatment will vary from patient to patient depending on the extent of the procedure and skin type. Side effects, if any, are minor. They may include redness and swelling around the hair follicle, which are, in fact, desired clinical results and indicate that the follicle has responded to the treatment. Most people return to normal activity right away. We will be happy to tell you more about your treatment, possible side effects and what results you can expect during your consultation.

Copyright 2008 Paragon Health, P.C.