WHAT IS PLASTIC SURGERY?
To understand the words 'Plastic Surgery' one needs to understand
the nature of the human experience. Humans in general have
attempted to change and embellish their bodies since the
dawn of time.
The frozen corpse of the medicine man of the Alps (thought
to be much more than ten thousand years old) was noted
to have tattoos on his body - perhaps to make him more
beautiful.
More recent ancient civilizations took pride in certain
human characteristics that they saw as beautiful and they
attempted to change the body to make it 'beautiful' as
they saw it.
The molding of the head of an Inca infant, the scaring
of the skin practiced by African tribes to leave a pleasing
pattern of scar on the skin, the use of lead paste applied
to the skin by medieval woman so that their skin would
be whitewash white, all were attempts to change the human
body to conform with a concept of beauty. Today, hair
is slicked back or buffont. Lids and lips are painted.
Tanning beds darken some skins bleaching agents lighten
others and so forth. These are enhancements that are thought
of a beautiful and are relatively easily accomplished
by most individuals.
More complex method of changing the body were developed
of course by certain 'specialists'. The 'medicine man'
and 'medicine woman' of the past developed more complex
skills in altering the human form. Changing the configuration
of the skull took more than every day knowledge to prevent
significant brain damage or even death to the Inca infant.
The skull should not be wrapped too tightly and it should
be wrapped at a certain angle only.
Skill was needed to correctly scar the skin of the African
tribes. Some method to prevent infection must have been
known and practiced.
The use of lead skin pastes seemed harmless enough but
certainly woman were harmed by lead poisoning. Certain
preparations that were effective and less harmful were
available. These were known to specialists and their use
directed by specialists.
The more sophisticated the methods of change and the
more invasive the procedure, i.e. the more the skin and
deeper tissues were probed, the more skill the individual
needed to have.
Ancient practioners of complex, sophisticated methods
were found centuries ago in the Indian subcontinent. These
early 'plastic surgeons' were probably the first to write
about changing or in some cases restoring 'beauty' or
a pleasing form to a person. There is a famous diagram
in the ancient Indian literature which shows the restoration
of a nose after it had been cut off. The 'Indian forehead
flap' for nose reconstruction was developed centuries
before the birth of Christ. This method was used to restore
the noses of mutilated prisoners of war. Fine results
were depicted in the drawings and to this date Plastic
Surgeons will use the 'Indian forehead flap' method of
nasal reconstruction.
So where does 'plastic surgeon' come from ?! Contrary
to popular belief, a plastic surgeon does not use plastic
or skin grafts to do 'plastic surgery'. 'Plasticos' is
of Greek word origin and means to mold or form. This is
indeed what the Plastic Surgeon attempts to do, mold or
make a new form of a face, breast, abdomen and so forth.
The term 'surgeon' has French, Italian, Latin and ultimately
Greek origins. 'Chirugia' is Latin for surgeon and was
derived from two Greek roots 'cheir' (hand) and 'ergon'
(work). A plastic surgeon is one who works with his hands
to mold the human form.
The current definition of a 'Plastic Surgeon' is a surgeon
who has been trained in a
Plastic Surgical Residency / Fellowship Training Program,
and by his / her training is eligible to to take the examination
of the
AMERICAN BOARD OF PLASTIC SURGERY
which is the examination sanctioned by
The AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALISTS
There are many surgeons who are
"Board Certified"
and claim to be Plastic Surgeons but check for
A GENERAL CATEGORIZATION OF PLASTIC SURGERY
by D. J. Capuano
MD FACS
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE
&
COSMETIC AND RESTORATIVE
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
CONGENITAL PROBLEMS
Problems present from birth which may or may not be familial
i.e. "runs in the family"
Craniofacial (face and skull)
Neck
Breast surgery
to even the size of breasts
to reduce the size of breasts programed to be very large
Trunk
hernias
skin defects as in spina bifida
Extremities
Arm
forearem
hand
Lower extremity
foot
Genitalia
development problems of the
male and female genital track
ACQUIRED PROBLEMS
Disease processes
Skin tumors
Breast tumors
Head and neck tumors
Injuries
Trauma
Burns
COSMETIC SURGERY
FACE and NECK COSMETIC SURGERY
Brow lift
Face Lift
Neck lift
Contouring by Suction Lipectomy
Eyelid Surgery
Nasal Surgery
Internal (breathing) and External ('looks')
Lips
Mouth
Cheeks - implants - contouring
Shaping of the skull
Hair Transplant
SKIN RESURFACING
Skin Care Products Glycolic
Acid Products Renova & Retin-A
Clarifying agents Pigment and 'spot' removers
CHEMICAL PEELS
LASER RESURFACING
DERMABRASION
- LIPOSUCTION -
Areas treatable include (listed in order of approximate
frequency of requests for treatment) in our office) - hips
- thighs - waist (abdomen) - neck - face - arms - - calves
- ankles -
Fat transfer from areas of liposuction
(listed in order of approximate frequency of requests for
treatment) in our office)
breasts (not done) - - lips - lower legs - calves - hands
-
male genitalia (not done)
BREAST SURGERY
Reduction of Large Breasts
Enlaegement of small breasts - even and uneven sizes
Elevation of sagging breasts
Removal of excess tissue from male breasts
Prophylactic cancer surgery on the breast
removal of the premalignant breast
or malignant tissue
preserving the nipple or reconstructing same
and reconstructing the breast mound
little known and potentially life saving surgery
Reconstruction of breast after cancer surgery
use of FDA approved implants
use of tissue from the abdomen
use of other tissues
VERY SPECIALIZED AREAS OF EXPERTISE
by Plastic Surgeons
Certain Plastic surgeons have extensive experience in
very specialized areas
SOME areas are referenced here
Cranio-Facial Surgery
Congenital Hand Surgery
Cleft Lip and Palate
Chest Wall Problems - complications after open heart surgery
Microvascular transfer of tissue (sewing of small blood
vessels to allow tissue to be transferred to other areas
as used in breast reconstruction from the
abdomen
as used to reconstruct tissue defects after
accidents
etc
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