About the Author

Barry A. S. Lycka is a cosmetic dermatologist practicing in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he has lived and worked since 1979.

Dr. Lycka completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta in honors psychology prior to entering the Faculty of Medicine, from which he graduated in 1983. He interned at the Misericordia Hospital and completed two years of internal medicine at the University of Alberta. This preparation paved the way for his appointment as a dermatology resident in the prestigious dermatology program at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He completed that residency in 1989 and became accredited as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Canada (FRCSC-Dermatology).

During his residency, Dr. Lycka studied laser surgery, cosmetic surgery and Mohs micrographic surgery, an advanced technique for the removal of skin cancers. With his many years of practice and teaching, he has become an internationally recognized authority in cosmetic dermatology.

Dr. Lycka is recognized for his leadership in offering new cosmetic surgical techniques to clients. He was the first physician in Edmonton-and among the first in Canada-to offer laser hair removal, and among the first to implement subsequent refinements in that technique. He developed a special interest in liposuction and has received instruction on the technique from many of the world's authorities, including Patrick Lillis, Bill Hanke, William Coleman and Jeffrey Klein. Among the first in North America to use tumescent and extrinsic tumescent ultrasonic (XTUL) techniques and to incorporate Mesotherapy techniques, he is an acknowledged leader in both fields. He pioneered the use of UltraPulse lasers for resurfacing and was among the first physicians in North America to offer the revolutionary thread technique of facial rejuvenation, which he studied in Mexico under Dr. Carl Bazan of Aguascalientes, an international expert. He was one of the first surgeons in Canada to offer the advanced technique, known as Mohs micrographic surgery, for the removal of skin cancers.

Dr. Lycka belongs to over twenty professional societies including the prestigious Professors of Dermatological Surgery of the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Academy of Dermatology, the Canadian Dermatology Association and is vice president of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery. He lectures regularly, shares his expertise with international medical organizations and chairs a masters group that brings doctors from all over North America to learn from his expertise. He places patient safety above all other considerations, operates an approved "non-hospital surgical facility" at First Edmonton Place in Edmonton, and maintains competency in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).

In 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, Dr. Lycka received the Consumers Choice Award for Excellence in cosmetic surgery, an award uniquely determined by consumers rather than a panel of judges. In 2005, he founded the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization for the education and prevention of skin cancer. Dr Lycka is the best-selling author of Shaping A New Image: The Practice of Cosmetic Surgery, which has sold to thousands of doctors in over thirty countries. He is happily married to Lucie Bernier-Lycka, a family physician. They have four daughters.