When to consult a Plastic Surgeon?

Plastic surgery is an art devoted to repair congenital or acquired defects i.e. “to restore what Nature has given and Chance has taken away”

Gaspare Tagliacozzi (1545–1597)

Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty that involves surgical reconstruction and aesthetic procedures of various parts of the body. Its purpose is to improve a person’s aesthetics or restore functionality. The scope of plastic surgery can be broadly divided into two main areas:

1. Cosmetic/aesthetic surgery: This branch of plastic surgery focuses on enhancing the beauty of the person. Procedures in this category include facelift, breast augmentation, liposuction and rhinoplasty etc.

2. Reconstructive Surgery: Reconstructive plastic surgery is primarily concerned with restoring the shape and function of body parts that have been affected by injury, congenital conditions or some disease. Some examples of reconstructive procedures are post mastectomy breast reconstruction in breast cancer, cleft lip amd palate surgery, skin grafting on burn patients and flap surgery for hand and foot injuries.

Plastic surgery is a diverse discipline that plays an important role in improving the lives of individuals through both cosmetic improvements and organ reconstruction. Plastic surgery restores the creative and functional capacity of the human body. Plastic surgery improves the quality of life of the patient and can return the patient’s lost smile.

Consult a plastic surgeon for the following problems –

• Accident / injury
  • hand or finger injury
  • hand fractures
  • Amputation of hand and fingers
  • Facial injury or fracture
  • Weakness or numbness of the hand after injury (nerve injury, brachial plexus injury, tendon injury)
• Complex wound
  • Complex wound, large wound of any part of the body after accident/injury
  • Wound in person unable to get out of bed (bed sore, pressure injury)
  • Chronic / non-healing ulcers
  • Non-healing wounds of diabetic patients (diabetic foot ulcer)
• Congenital anomaly
  • cleft lip and palate
  • Congenital deformity/small ear (ear deformity, microtia)
  • Clumped or joint fingers/extra fingers (syndactyly, polydactyly)
  • Birth marks, hemangioma and other vascular malformations
  • Cosmetic / aesthetic problems
  • Old scars (unsightly scar, hypertrophic scar, keloid)
  • Hair fall / baldness
  • increased abdominal fat (obesity)
  • Post-pregnancy loose, hanging abdominal skin
  • Post bariatric surgery loose, hanging skin
  • Abnormal shape of women’s breast (amastia, hypoplastic breast, gigantomastia, breast ptosis)
  • Post mastectomy breast deformities
  • Abnormal size of male breast (Gynaecomastia)
  • Crooked nose, hump
  • Unwanted facial hair (facial hair, hirsutism)
• Urinary and genital related problems (urogenital anomalies)
  • Urethral disorders (hypospadias, epispadias)
  • Vaginal agenesis
  • Transgender
• Burn
  • flame burn
  • Electric burn
  • Chemical burn
  • Post-burn contracture, scars, keloid