Dr. Lavanya Kavimani
MD DVL
Consultant Dermatologist and Dermatosurgeon at DermaVue Coimbatore, 460, Ponnaiyan St, Cross Cut Rd, Ram Nagar, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009
- TNMC registration
- 134837 Tamil Nadu Medical Council
- IADVL
- PLM/TN/14792 Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists
- Consults in
- Tamil English, Telugu, Hindi
Dr. Lavanya Kavimani is a dermatologist at DermaVue Coimbatore, Gandhipuram. She did her MD in Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy at Madras Medical College and her internship at CMC Vellore. She sees severe drug reactions, chronic urticaria, autoimmune blistering disease and dermatosurgery cases, and consults in Tamil, English, Telugu and Hindi. TNMC registration 134837.
In her own words
My internship was at CMC Vellore and my MD in Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy is from Madras Medical College. Both are busy government and mission hospital settings, and you see a volume and severity of skin disease there that a private clinic alone will not show you.
That is where my interest in severe drug reactions began. Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are among the few genuine emergencies in dermatology, and a patient's outcome often turns on how early the drug is stopped. My paper on etanercept in these conditions took the first prize at Dermazone in 2022.
My thesis was on chronic idiopathic urticaria, the hives that go on for months with no cause found. Patients arrive frustrated because they have been told repeatedly that their tests are normal. Normal tests are useful information, not a dismissal, and I spend a good part of that consultation explaining why.
I also work on autoimmune blistering disease, including pemphigus in children, and on mastocytosis. Dermatosurgery is part of my practice. I consult in Tamil, English, Telugu and Hindi.
Special interests and research
- Severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions, including Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis
- Chronic idiopathic urticaria, long standing hives
- Pemphigus, including juvenile pemphigus
- Mastocytosis
- Dermatosurgery
Training and registration
MD in Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology
Madras Medical College, Chennai
Internship
Christian Medical College, Vellore, Vellore
Tamil Nadu Medical Council
Registration number 134837, verifiable on the council register.
Published work
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First prize, Best Paper Presentation. A single dose of injection Etanercept in SJS/TEN
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A single dose of Etanercept, the game changer in TEN
Questions patients ask
Where did you do your MD?
At Madras Medical College, from 2020 to 2023, in Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy. My internship before that was at Christian Medical College, Vellore. My Tamil Nadu Medical Council registration number is 134837 and my IADVL membership is PLM/TN/14792.
What is Stevens Johnson syndrome, and why is it urgent?
It is a severe reaction, usually to a medicine, in which the skin and the linings of the mouth, eyes and genitals blister and shed. It needs hospital care. The single most important step is identifying and stopping the drug responsible, which is why the medicine history is taken in such detail.
Your award paper was on etanercept. What was it about?
Etanercept is a biological medicine that blocks a specific inflammatory signal. My paper looked at its use in Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, and it received the first prize at Dermazone in 2022. It is a hospital level treatment and it is decided case by case.
My hives have gone on for months and every test is normal. What do you do differently?
Chronic idiopathic urticaria was my thesis subject. In most cases no external trigger is ever identified, and the condition is driven by the patient's own immune system. My approach is to stop chasing food triggers, control the symptoms properly with the right dose, and give you a realistic timeline for review.
Can children get pemphigus?
Yes, though it is uncommon. Juvenile pemphigus is one of the areas I have worked on. It is an autoimmune blistering condition, and in children the blisters are often first noticed inside the mouth rather than on the skin, which delays the diagnosis.
Which languages do you consult in?
Tamil, English, Telugu and Hindi. Patients explain skin symptoms more accurately in their own language, particularly itch, burning and the sequence in which a rash appeared, and that detail changes the diagnosis often enough to matter.
Consulting at DermaVue Coimbatore
DermaVue Coimbatore · 460, Ponnaiyan St, Cross Cut Rd, Ram Nagar, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641009 · +91 8086860018