Plastic Reconstructive Surgery

Plastic reconstructive surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. While famous for aesthetic surgery, plastic surgery also includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand surgery, microsurgery, and the treatment of burns. Endoscopic techniques represent a major advance in the practice of surgery and a solution for today's patients who desire rejuvenation with minimal scarring.

The field of plastic surgery encompasses cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. The most common plastic surgery procedures are liposuction and breast augmentation, however plastic surgeons regularly correct cleft lips and palates in children who would otherwise not be able to eat or speak properly. Surgeons reconstruct faces and limbs after severe trauma and can use one part of the body to restore another body part affected by cancer. Recently, with ongoing research in the field of transplantation, plastic surgeons around the globe have transplanted hands and faces on to severely deformed individuals. The long-term survival of such grafts remains under investigation, however, the surgical possibilities in restoring function and wholeness in individuals continues to expand with modern scientific research.

Reconstruction and reconstructive surgery correct functional impairments caused by burns, traumatic injuries (such as facial bone fractures and breaks), congenital abnormalities (such as cleft palates or cleft lips), developmental abnormalities, infection and disease, and cancer or tumors.

Reconstructive surgery is, in its broadest sense, the use of surgery to restore the form and function of the body. Reconstruction plastic surgeons use the concept of a reconstruction ladder to manage increasingly complex wounds. This ranges from very simple techniques, such as primary closure and dressings, to procedures that are more complex.

For individuals with severe burns or cuts, skin grafts or other reconstructive techniques are available. Microsurgery or flap procedures are procedures that replace parts of the body affected by injury or disease, such as cancer. Reconstructive surgery corrects facial defects such as cleft lip, breathing problems, or chronic infections.