The problem nobody names: the route, not the diagnosis
A patient arrives with a patch, with hair loss, or with a lesion that has changed. The doctor looks, suspects, and orders a test. And there begins the part that appears in no brochure: the patient goes off to find a laboratory, books an appointment, comes back another day, waits for results, collects them, books another appointment with the doctor, returns — and only then, two or three weeks later, is a treatment decided and the search begins for somewhere to fill it.
The diagnosis did not fail. The route failed. And in most cases those three weeks change nothing. In some — a pigmented lesion that is growing, a fungal infection that is spreading, hair loss with a systemic cause behind it — they change everything.
Having the laboratory and the pharmacy in the same building does not make the doctor better or the diagnosis more accurate. It shortens the distance between knowing and acting. That is all it does. And it turns out that is a great deal.
What is resolved inside the clinic
The dermatology consultation, the test that consultation orders and the treatment that follows all belong to the same journey, in the same place:
- Skin lesion testing. When a lesion must be studied, sampling and referral for histopathology are coordinated from within the clinic itself. See skin cancer screening and moles and warts.
- Systemic workup in hair loss. Thyroid, iron studies and other markers that explain diffuse shedding before anyone starts talking about grafts. See hair diagnosis.
- Testing for skin and nail infections. Onychomycosis is the classic case: half the nails that look fungal are not. Treating without confirming means treating blind for months. See fungal nail infection.
- Allergy testing, coordinated with the clinic’s allergy unit, when what sits behind a dermatitis is a contact or a sensitisation.
- Pre-operative workup, where the path ends in surgery. Ordered, processed and reviewed before the patient enters theatre — not the night before.
- Dispensing of the prescribed treatment at the clinic pharmacy, on the same day as the consultation.
The pharmacy: what it is, and what it explicitly is not
The pharmacy exists so that treatment prescribed in the consultation can begin that same day, not next week. Nothing more than that.
One sentence is worth spelling out in full, because it is what separates a clinical pharmacy from a sales counter: nothing is sold here that was not prescribed. There are no packages assembled before a diagnosis, no products pushed at the end of a consultation, no "while you are here, take this". Treatment comes out of the assessment; the pharmacy simply makes it possible without you losing three days hunting for it.
For legal and medical reasons, no medication is named and no dose is given anywhere on this site. All drug therapy is prescribed, adjusted and supervised in consultation, by the physician who signs it. A web page is not a place to prescribe, and a serious clinic does not pretend otherwise.
When a test is not processed here
No laboratory on earth processes everything. When a case requires a reference assay, a specialised technique or a second reading, the sample is sent to the appropriate institution and the clinic follows it until the result comes back — without dropping the patient along the way, and without asking them to chase it themselves.
It is exactly what is done with any finding that exceeds dermatologic scope: diagnose, orient, and refer onward to the right management, with the information in hand. A serious institution is measured by what it does when a case leaves its territory — not by what it promises while the case is still inside it.
Why this exists here and not in a consulting room
A laboratory and a pharmacy inside a clinic are not improvised: they are sustained. This clinic was founded in 1971 by the dermatologist Dr. Francisco Arellano Ocampo, and it is the second generation of the same house that runs it today. The infrastructure is the material residue of half a century doing the same work in the same place.
The dermatology consultation, the laboratory and the pharmacy belong to the clinic. Surgery — excision, margins, reconstruction, hair transplantation, aesthetic surgery — is performed by Dr. Arístides Arellano Huacuja, plastic and reconstructive surgeon (specialty licence 0002008; he is not a dermatologist, and on this site each person appears with the specialty they actually hold). To understand which specialist matches which skin problem, read the guide dermatologist or plastic surgeon?.
The cost of each test is defined at the consultation, according to what the case indicates rather than to a package. See the price list for other procedures.
Dr. Arístides Arellano is a plastic surgeon holding a specialty licence: he practises under a Mexican medical licence (D.G.P. 1125959) and a specialty licence in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (0002008), both issued by the Directorate General of Professions (DGP), which reissued his certificate of professional standing in 2025. His career began before Mexico’s present-day specialty-board system existed: he belongs to the founding generation of plastic surgery in Puebla, the second generation of a surgical tradition started in 1971 by Dr. Francisco Arellano Ocampo. Trust is verified, not promised: both licences are public and anyone can look them up in the DGP’s National Registry of Professionals.
Trust is verified, not promised. All 210 scanned documents —degree, licences, diplomas, publications and certificates, from 1977 to 2025— are open in Dr. Arístides Arellano’s credential archive, alongside an explanation of the difference between a specialty licence and a board certification.
The route · from consultation to treatment
- Day 1 — consultationAssessment, examination, and if the case calls for it, the test is ordered. It is taken or processed in the same clinic — no going out to find a laboratory, no second appointment somewhere else.
- Days 1–7 — the testThe laboratory processes it. Turnaround depends on the test: a blood panel does not take what a histopathology takes. You are told at the outset how long yours will take, and you are not told less.
- The resultInterpreted in consultation — not over the phone, not by message. A result with no physician to read it is a sheet of paper, not a diagnosis.
- Same day as the resultIf the test defines a treatment, it is prescribed and can be dispensed at the clinic pharmacy that same day. That is where the weeks the ordinary route loses are won back.
- Follow-upScheduled according to the disease. Chronic skin conditions are controlled, not cured: follow-up is not a commercial extra, it is part of the treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have laboratory tests here without being a patient of the clinic?
The laboratory exists to support the clinical route: the consultation orders the test and the test returns to the consultation that interprets it. A result with no physician to read it is a sheet of paper, not a diagnosis. The right step is to raise it at the assessment and let the physician define which test actually makes sense in your case.
How long does a result take?
It depends on the test: a blood panel and a histopathology do not share a turnaround. The house rule is that you are told at the outset how long yours will take, and are not promised less in order to keep you. Timelines are met, or you are told.
Will the pharmacy sell me products I do not need?
No. Nothing is sold here that was not prescribed. There are no packages assembled before a diagnosis and no products pushed at the end of a consultation. The pharmacy exists so prescribed treatment can start the same day — not to turn a consultation into a purchase.
Why are no medications listed on the page?
For legal and medical reasons. No medication is named and no dose is given on this site: all drug therapy is prescribed, adjusted and supervised in consultation, by the physician who signs it. A web page is not a place to prescribe.
What if my test is not processed in this laboratory?
It is sent to the appropriate institution and the clinic follows it until the result comes back. You are not asked to chase it and you are not dropped halfway. No laboratory processes everything, and a serious clinic is measured by what it does when a case leaves its territory.
Who interprets the results — the plastic surgeon or the dermatologist?
The dermatology consultation and its tests belong to the clinic, founded in 1971 by the dermatologist Dr. Francisco Arellano Ocampo. Dr. Arístides Arellano is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon (0002008) and is the one who performs surgery. On this site each person appears with the specialty they actually hold. The guide "dermatologist or plastic surgeon?" explains who matches which problem.
Every case is different. Discuss yours in a personal consultation.
Book a consultation on WhatsAppEvery figure published on this site is approximate and is not a quote. Any procedure or treatment first requires a private assessment consultation with Dr. Arístides Arellano —$800 MXN, charged separately— and it is at that consultation that the definitive cost of your case is determined.
Educational content; it does not replace a medical consultation. Results may vary from person to person.