      |
What is plastic surgery? Plastic [Greek - plastikos] giving form, to mold or fashion into various forms. Modern plastic surgery emerged from the ashes of World War II, when soldiers mutilated on the battlefield were restored by an innovative group of surgeons who would go on to define the specialty, train other surgeons, and give uniquely creative surgeons an outlet for their skills. Hence, plastic surgery is a surgical subspecialty devoted to reconstruction, repair, correction and improvement of malformed, deformed, injured, or lost tissue. While other surgical specialties are devoted to removing diseased tissues, plastic surgeons rearrange tissue, sometimes removing, sometimes adding tissues. Although "plastic" in common terms would suggest that an artificial material is used, the vast majority of plastic surgery is done with the patient’s own tissues. There are two broad categories within the field of plastic surgery, reconstructive and cosmetic. Are you aware that the same surgeons who are portrayed in the media "nip and tuck" specialists are actually engaged in correction of birth defects such as cleft lip, reconstruction of breasts, caring for burned patients, and reattaching severed fingers long after other physicians have gone to bed? It is fortunate that the same skills that make for an excellent reconstructive surgeon apply directly to cosmetic surgery, where the surgery itself is elective but the expectations are every bit as high. What are common reconstructive plastic surgery procedures?
Cleft lip and/or palate result from a failure of these facial structures to fuse in the midline. It is the second most common birth defect after club foot, and occurs in 1/1000 births in the white population. It is twice as common in Asians and half as common in blacks. With modern techniques, cleft lip surgery is being performed at significantly younger ages, often in the first months of life. Repair of the palate is often delayed until the child is large enough to tolerate the procedure, and in many centers this is from 6 to 18 months of age. It’s important to repair the palate prior to speech development to avoid long-term speech defects that occur when a child with a cleft palate tries to compensate for the air escaping from the mouth into the nose. Back to Top Hand surgery is most often performed in the United States by plastic and orthopedic surgeons. The interest of the plastic surgeon in the hand stems from the intricate system of tendons, blood vessels and nerves packed into the amazing human hand. Plastic surgeons are accustomed to performing surgery with microscopes and powerful magnifying glasses and are naturally attracted to such intricate surgery. Plastic surgeons treat hand and wrist fractures, nerve disorders, trauma, and re-attach severed digits under the microscope. Back to Top Plastic surgeons pioneered many of the reconstructive procedures for dramatic injuries to the face, and still actively participate in the care of facial trauma, reconstruction of tumor defects, and burn scar treatment. Emergency rooms commonly contact an experienced plastic surgeon for complex or particularly worrisome lacerations such as those in children. In the long term, plastic surgeons are the masters of scar revision if this becomes necessary. Plastic surgeons, working in concert with otolaryngologists at Seattle Head, Neck & Plastic Surgeons tackle the complexities of reconstructing the often large defects created by removal of oral cancers. Back to Top One in nine American women will have breast cancer at some point in their lives. Plastic surgeons have long participated in the reconstruction of breasts after mastectomy using various techniques. Depending on the patient’s circumstances, reconstruction can be done at the time of mastectomy or at any time in the future. Reconstruction can be done with the patient’s own abdominal or back skin or alternatively a tissue expander can be used to stretch the existing skin and an implant is placed after the skin is stretched. We participate in a breast implant study and can offer either saline or silicone gel implants--the patient has a choice. Back to Top Another common breast procedure is reduction, often to alleviate symptoms such as neck and back pain, rashes, and bra-strap indentations. These can be done safely as an outpatient procedure under a general anesthetic. For patients with symptoms and breasts with significant excess tissue, insurance companies will often pay for the procedure. Back to Top There are many reasons a plastic surgeon will use a microscope for surgery, but in most instances it is useful in putting nerves and blood vessels together with sutures far finer than human hair. This may need to be done to reattach a severed finger or hand, and in some cases "flaps" of skin, muscle, bone, or a combination of these can be moved using the blood vessel feeding the tissue and the microscope can be use to attach the "flap" to its new location. Back to Top
Seattle Head, Neck & Plastic
Surgeons |
