Read Full Article HereDermatologist Inspired by Father, Field to Practice in Joplin
Dr. Stephen Matlock studies a skin sample in a microscope. Matlock, a dermatologist, is now practicing in Joplin, the town where he grew up and where his father, also a dermatologist, previously worked.
As a home-schooled child, Dr. Stephen Matlock attended more career days than other kids.
His father, a dermatologist, would bring him along to work and let him watch how he helped patients. The sessions inspired him to pursue the field of medicine himself.
“One of the things I got to see was the impact he’d have on a patient’s quality of life almost immediately,” Matlock said. “With other conditions, you can see labs change and measure results that way, but in dermatology, both patient and provider can see that change physically.”
Matlock is now practicing in the Joplin area. Working out of the U.S. Dermatology Partners office, the board-certified dermatologist is following his father’s footsteps in the same town where he grew up. His father, Dr. Mark S. Matlock, also provided dermatology services in Joplin prior to his death in 2014.
Matlock and his staff offer a number of services, including treatments for skin cancer, cosmetic dermatology procedures such as botox and scar treatment, as well as general dermatology treatments ranging from athlete’s foot to dandruff, from eczema to shingles.
That includes certification in Mohs surgery, a particularly effective technique for treating basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Rather than removing a large patch of skin and awaiting further testing, Mohs surgery calls for precision removal of carcinomas along their margins, and immediate testing of samples to ensure complete removal. The procedure is done in stages, instead of all at once.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, the procedure has the highest cure rate, spares healthy tissue and leaves behind the smallest scar possible.
Matlock earned a biology degree from the University of Arkansas and a medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, where he earned induction into the Alpha Omega Honor Medical Society. He completed a dermatology residency and internship at the University of Arkansas, and was chief resident during his final year.
During his medical education, he almost took a different path — also inspired by his father. After his dad suffered illness from a congenital heart defect, Matlock considered becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon.
But after shadowing in that field, he learned that it was not for him, and that he was still compelled by dermatology, including the skin’s ability to reveal a number of internal conditions.
“Skin really is the window to the body,” Matlock said. “I can look at legs and tell if you have diabetes or vascular issues, for instance. It’s almost like being a magician or a wizard. I can see things about people’s health that most providers wouldn’t think to check.”
After he and his wife lived in Kansas City for a few months, they decided to move to Joplin so that surrounding smaller towns could gain more access to dermatologists. His wife, Alex Matlock, is a nurse practitioner in rheumatology.
Being able to provide services that provide immediate improvement and relief gives Matlock plenty of job satisfaction, he said.
“Skin does so much for you,” Matlock said. “If you are able to make someone feel better, even if you’re just relieving an itch, you can change lives. It has an impact on their mental well-being.”
