Plastic Surgery Services
What is Plastic Surgery?
Plastic Surgery is a medical specialty that focuses on the repair and reconstruction of facial and body tissue defects caused by trauma, illness, or birth defects in order to improve a person’s appearance, as well as restore and improve function. Plastic surgery can often help improve an individual’s confidence, self-esteem, and overall quality of life.
A medical doctor who specializes in Plastic Surgery is referred to as a plastic surgeon. A plastic surgeon would have completed a six-year residency program that combines plastic surgery and general surgery or a five-year surgery residency followed by a three-year plastic surgery residency. Furthermore, the surgeon can practice plastic surgery for two years and pass comprehensive oral and written examinations to become board-certified.
What Does Plastic Surgery Include?
Plastic surgery is broadly divided into reconstructive and aesthetic (cosmetic) plastic surgery.
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
In general, reconstructive plastic surgery is used to correct body structure abnormalities that may be a result of:
- Congenital anomalies (birth defects)
- Developmental abnormalities
- Disease condition
- Infection
- Tumors
- Trauma
Reconstruction plastic surgery is usually used to improve function, but may also be used to change appearance.
Cosmetic (aesthetic) Plastic Surgery
Cosmetic plastic surgery is typically used to reshape or repair otherwise normal-looking body structures to greatly improve appearance.
When is Plastic Surgery Employed?
Plastic surgery can be performed on any area of the body with the exception of the central nervous system. Plastic surgery is commonly used to repair:
- Skin, including extensive burns, scars, birthmarks, and other serious injuries
- Birth defects, including cleft lip, cleft palate, and malformed ears
- Areas damaged by excision of cancerous tissue, such as from the breast or face
- Maxillofacial (the facial skeleton) deformities, such as straightening the bridge of the nose
Surgical Techniques Used in Plastic Surgery
Some of the common techniques utilized during plastic surgery include:
- Tissue expansion: This is a technique in which the surrounding tissue is stretched to stimulate the body to "grow" extra skin, which can then be utilized to aid in reconstructing the nearby area.
- Skin flap surgery: In this technique, a chunk of tissue from one section of the body is moved to another section, together with the blood vessels that help sustain it. It is known as flap surgery because the healthy tissue typically remains partially connected to the body while it is repositioned.
- Skin grafting: This is a technique in which healthy skin removed from an unaffected section of the body is utilized to replace damaged or lost skin.
- Fat grafting or transfer: This technique involves the removal of fat from one area and inserting it into another area, typically to correct unevenness.
- Vacuum closure: In this technique, a sterile piece of gauze or foam is used to apply suction to a wound in order to draw out fluid and stimulate healing.
- Lasers: Lasers employed in plastic surgery usually provide minimal scarring, bruising, and bleeding. There are several different types of lasers that may be used, depending on the location and purpose of the operation to be performed.
What are the Most Common Plastic Surgery Procedures?
Some of the most common plastic surgery procedures include:
- Liposuction, a surgical procedure to reduce excessively stubborn localized fatty areas where dieting and exercise have failed.
- Abdominoplasty, known more commonly as a 'tummy tuck', is a surgical procedure to remove excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen and to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall.
- Breast augmentation, also known as augmentation mammoplasty, is a surgical procedure to enhance the size and shape of the breasts by inserting implants.
- Blepharoplasty, a surgical procedure performed for functional or cosmetic correction of the upper and lower eyelids.
- Breast reduction, also known as reduction mammoplasty, is a surgical procedure employed to remove excess fat, tissue, and skin from the breasts.
- Mastopexy, usually known as a breast lift, is a surgical procedure to raise and reshape your breasts.
- Rhinoplasty, a surgical procedure to repair or reshape the nose to improve its size, shape, and angle of the nose. It is also performed to correct structural problems with the nose.
- Facelift, also known as meloplasty or rhytidectomy, is a surgical procedure to correct wrinkled and sagging skin of the face and neck, associated with aging.
- Forehead lift, a procedure to pull the skin of the forehead tighter in order to remove wrinkles and smooth creases. This corrects frown lines, forehead furrows, hooded eyelids, and drooping eyebrows.
- Buttock lift or buttock contouring is a cosmetic procedure designed to sculpt or improve the buttock shape and appearance with either augmentation or lift.
- Laser skin resurfacing, a procedure to reduce skin irregularities and facial wrinkles, such as acne scars or blemishes, by removing skin layer by layer with precision.
- Jaw, cheek, lip, or chin reshaping (facial implants or soft tissue augmentation)
- Plumping, or fat or collagen injections (facial rejuvenation)
Risks and Complications
As with any surgery, some risks and complications are associated with plastic surgery, including:
- Pain and numbness
- Bruising and swelling
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Scarring
- Skin death or necrosis
- Wound healing problems
- Implant failure
- Injury to the nerves
- Allergic reactions