The 19th Congress of the Baltic Association of Dermatovenerologists, Riga, Latvia, September 14–16, 2023: celebrating advances in dermatology

On September 14–16, 2023, the 19^th Congress of the Baltic Association of Dermatovenerologists (BADV) convened at the University of Latvia, in the Great Hall, in which dermatology professors from around the world as well as medical students and residents participated (fig. 1). The Congress President Andris Rubins welcomed attendees alongside the President of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, the Chairman of the University of Latvia Council, Prof. Ivars Kalviņš and the Rector of the University of Latvia, Prof. Indriķis Muižnieks (fig. 2). The Congress President Andris Rubins, Professor of Dermatovenerology of the University of Latvia, who gathered more than 40 lecturers from 12 different countries (USA, Germany, Taiwan, Italy, Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Great Britain, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia), utilized a hybrid format facilitating participation by 353 individuals, 175 in person and 178 remotely. There were also eleven superb poster presentations.
Plenary lectures began with Chih-Hung Lee’s (Taiwan) superb presentation lamenting health hazards of chronic arsenic exposure from the drinking water for approximately 140 million people in at least 70 countries, with arsenical skin cancers representing a cutaneous sign of internal malignancy. Kulli Kingo (Estonia) then concentrated on the psoriasis patient treatment. The opening lecturer, Christopher Bunker (United Kingdom) recalled instructive HIV cases from his dermatology clinic. The University of Latvia Dermatology Chair Silvestrs Rubins and the Congress President Andris Rubins characterized the incidence of syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV in Latvia from 2018 to 2022 and found chlamydia to be the commonest, followed by HIV. Stefano Veraldi delineated cutaneous fungal infections by unusual fungi, including a patient labelled with acne keloidalis nuchae who had actually an infection caused by Trichophyton violaceum. Silvestrs Rubins highlighted 100 subtypes of histiocytoses, subdivided into 5 large groups (fig. 3).
Many dermatologic advances were announced. Klaus Fritz (Germany) advocated the pure yellow light in pro-yellow lasers with its special wavelength of 577 nm for vascular lesions in dark skin. He also documented the erbium laser as very effective in treating acne and other scars and for skin rejuvenation, while A. Trelles Mario (Spain) emphasized the use of lasers for cutaneous aging, tissue remodeling and scars. Michael H. Gold (USA) recommended...


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