Procedures in a Plastic Reconstructive Surgery

• Skin Grafts - A skin graft is a patch of healthy skin taken from one area of the body, called the "donor site," and used to cover another area where skin is missing or damaged.
• Tissue Expansion - Tissue expansion is a procedure that enables the body to "grow" extra skin by stretching adjacent tissue. A balloon-like device called an expander is inserted under the skin near the area to be repaired and then gradually filled with salt water over time, causing the skin to stretch and grow.
• Flap Surgery/Micro surgery - A flap is a section of living tissue that carries its own blood supply and is moved from one area of the body to another. Flap surgery can restore form and function to areas of the body that have lost skin, fat, muscle movement, and/or skeletal support.
• Laser Surgery - laser technology has revolutionized many areas of plastic surgery. The laser's allure comes from its ability to "blast" away or diminish imperfections or growths with a minimum of bleeding, bruising, and scarring.

How Effective Is The Surgery

A qualified plastic surgeon increases the chances of the effectiveness of the procedure. Facial implants, hair implants, and ear surgeries have permanent results. Others reconstructive surgeries like the face lifts, chemical peels, eyelid surgery, and forehead lifts last for variable periods of time, depending on various factors such as time, stress, aging and exposure to the elements.

All surgeries carry an element of risk and uncertainty if proper precautions have been neglected at any stage of the process. Moreover, largely, the effectiveness of the surgery depends upon the patient’s positive attitude towards the procedure.

What Will Be The Duration of the Recovery Phase?

When tissues are altered in some way as in a plastic and reconstructive surgery, there is scar tissue left behind. This goes through an inflammatory phase and finally through a maturation phase. The inflammatory phase lasts for several weeks and it is during this period that most changes are seen. This phase varies depending on the intensity of the surgery. In some types of surgeries, the inflammatory stage may last for just some days; in others, it may go on for months. The next phase, the maturation phase goes on for months, and in many patients for years and although the effects of surgery are less noticeable and the changes are more gradual they continue to occur.

The long term healing process in a plastic reconstructive surgery results in an improved and an enhanced function and image.