Dryden dermatologist shares journey through pandemic

Dr. Brad Yentzer, Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, started his practice earlier this year in Freeville after working in Ithaca and Cortland for many years. After building his practice literally from the ground up, Yentzer had only been open a month when the pandemic hit.

As Yentzer described, having to operate during the pandemic since practically the beginning of his practice presented considerable challenges, but his dedication to his work and his patients has never wavered.

Yentzer’s journey to dermatology was a “long, complicated road,” as he described it.

“I sort of fell into it,” he said. “I wanted to be a scientist and do a lot of research, which I ended up doing. I was pushed into med school by one of my college professors. I went to med school and ended up doing clinical research after I finished med school. Dermatology was one of the many things I loved in medicine.”

One of the biggest draws to dermatology for Yentzer was it was like a challenging puzzle he was eager to solve. Couple that with it being what he called one of the few medical fields where he can provide immediate relief to patients, and dermatology was a natural fit for him.

“Your primary care doctor might reduce your risk of heart attack by controlling your blood pressure, and people don’t care — they’re not nearly as grateful,” he said. “But you remove their skin cancer, and they love you. So, I do appreciate being able to fix people and myself get that immediate gratification of the quick fix. And I like to be the expert and the specialist and fix people when no one else can.”

Since the beginning, Yentzer has strived to be among the best in his field, and he likes using that expertise to educate his patients and dispel common misconceptions people come in with, like assuming a rash couldn’t have been caused by a certain product for a variety of reasons.

“People have the misconception that, ‘Well, I switched my shampoo, so therefore, it couldn’t have been my shampoo that was causing the rash,’” he said. “I have to explain how, well, that’s not exactly true. It could have been the shampoo, but the reaction is persisting, or the specific chemical that you are allergic to is in multiple different products, including the new shampoo now has that same chemical. So yes, it’s still the shampoo.”

And even if someone has been using the same product or brand for many years, formulas can change without people realizing it, or certain chemicals in the product can cause an allergic reaction after repeated exposure. All of these nuances are why Yentzer has actively encouraged folks to seek out a specialist when in doubt.

After helping patients at two different practices for many years, Yentzer wanted to venture out and start his own practice a little over a year ago to have more control over his work and because he “just thought we could do something better.”

Turning his vision for his own practice into a reality meant Yentzer had to start completely from scratch, which included building his own building on Route 13 over one winter.

“A 3,600-square-foot building involves multiple engineers, the town, the state, the city, the Health Department, multiple contractors, and I was still working full time,” Yentzer said. “It was nerve-racking to make sure we got it done on time, but at the same time, it’s done what I call correctly.”

Correctly to Yentzer means having a solid building that’s welcoming to patients and is carbon neutral with its energy usage. From there, Yentzer got to choose everything from the paint on the walls to the supply chains he uses for his equipment and materials, which he said was “nice when you’re an obsessive-compulsive physician with real need for detail.”

Construction began just before winter hit in 2019 and was completed in early 2020, allowing Yentzer to open in February. Yentzer’s practice is just about equidistant from the two practices he had previously worked at and just down the road from his home in Slaterville Springs, making the location convenient for him and his patients alike, he said.

While Yentzer came in expecting to adjust to having his own practice, COVID-19, as it was for most county residents, was an unexpected challenge that Yentzer had to face if he wanted his practice to succeed.

“We made a conscious decision to do our best to stay open and do whatever we needed to do to stay safe, keep our staff safe, keep our patients safe and still be able to help those who need it,” he said.

In the past six months, Yentzer has had to contend with numerous obstacles caused by the pandemic, including PPE shortages and the need for extra cleanliness. Thankfully, Yentzer said, the fact that he has a small practice means he and his staff can adjust quickly to solve supply-chain shortages and implement new cleaning practices.

Throughout the pandemic, Yentzer has continued to treat a variety of conditions for area patients, from skin cancer to allergies to acne. Still, he’s not seeing as many patients as he did prior to the pandemic, something Yentzer said has been a bit disheartening considering his original hopes for his practice.

“The only disappointment has nothing to do with private practice [but] has just everything to do with the pandemic,” he said. “The pandemic just kind of slowed us down. I love to stay busy, so I normally can see 40 patients a day without breaking a sweat. And certainly, we’re not seeing that most of the days … in the pandemic.”

As Yentzer explained, the decrease in patient volume is likely caused by people’s justifiable fear of COVID-19.

“There were some people who did wait too long to come in, and their disease had already progressed farther than it should,” he said. “We could have caught it earlier, I think, had some of these folks come in, but they were naturally scared to come in because of the pandemic.”

While Yentzer has embraced virtual communication methods for his patients, most of his appointments are still in person due to the nature of his profession, he said.

“All new diagnoses and new patients really should be seen in person,” he said. “Most people still, in my opinion, don’t have a high enough quality of internet connection or cameras to provide the image quality that’s necessary for a dermatologist to accurately make diagnoses. I know there are some people who think they can make the diagnosis over Zoom. I can assure you their accuracy of diagnosis is probably not as good as they think it is. And I’m the same way.”

Despite the challenges caused by the pandemic, Yentzer said he isn’t discouraged but is determined to continue serving his patients and fulfilling the goals he established when he started his practice.

“I have a fantastic staff,” he said. “Everybody works well together. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere. Everyone’s happy. Staff is happy. The patients are happy. I’m happy. It’s an easy commute, nice building, very comfortable.”

Moving forward, Yentzer, like many other residents, hopes for eventual relief from the pandemic both for himself and his patients. When the pandemic eventually passes, Yentzer hopes to bring additional practitioners to his building, something the design was originally intended for but had to be put on hold due to COVID-19.

In the meantime, Yentzer encouraged residents to come in if they’re having problems related to their hair, skin or nails, as he’s open and ready to help.

“Folks, don’t hesitate to come in and get their problem fixed,” Yentzer said. “I’ve seen so many people who’ve suffered with some condition for five, six years before they finally walked through my doors, and [I] fix them in no time. And I always say there’s no reason to perpetually suffer from something when we help and do so efficiently. That’s what professionals and experts are for.”