Plastic surgery is a group of medical procedures that are used to restore, correct, or change the shape or function of the body or parts of the body for therapeutic or aesthetic reasons. Plastic surgeons have a minimum of six years of surgical training and experience, with three of those years devoted to plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons are divided into two categories. Cosmetic plastic surgeons, for example, are those who specialize in plastic surgery for aesthetic reasons. A reconstructive surgeon, on the other hand, focuses on plastic surgery that is done for medical reasons.
For reconstructive surgeons, there are a few procedures that are fairly standard. One is tissue expansion, which is a procedure that involves the growth of extra skin. The skin can then be used for a variety of procedures, including repairing skin that has been damaged by an accident, birth defect, or surgery, as well as cosmetic procedures.
Scar revision can sometimes be preceded by tissue expansion. Depending on the situation, scarring can be repaired in a variety of ways. Topical applications, injections, skin treatments such as bleaching, chemical peels, dermabrasion, or light therapy, or tissue replacement with either skin grafts from a tissue expansion or a pharmaceutical tissue substitute are all techniques that a reconstructive surgeon might use to lessen the severity of a scar.
Hand surgery may be another important focus of the reconstructive surgeon. Carpal tunnel syndrome, Dupuytren’s contracture, and rheumatoid arthritis are just a few of the diseases and disorders that can affect the flexibility and function of the fingers and wrist. When an injury to the hand or fingers occurs, or when a birth defect prevents normal function, such as syndactyly, the most common congenital malformation, or when several fingers are fused together in the arms or legs, hand reconstructive surgery may be performed. Patients with syndactyly under the age of one year may be operated on by the reconstructive surgeon.
Another type of reconstructive surgery primarily performed on children is cleft lip and palate surgery. Though a cleft lip can be minor in some cases, the combination can have an impact on eating, speech development, ear infections, and hearing loss. Typically, the reconstructive surgeon will perform multiple rounds of surgery, repairing the cleft lip when the child is less than three months old, the cleft palate by the child’s first birthday, and any necessary follow-up surgery after the child’s second birthday.