Atlanta Plastic Surgery – Various Treatments

May 2010. Plastic surgery in Atlanta is a medical specialty that involves correcting form and function of various parts of the human body. Cosmetic enhancement is perhaps the most famous branch of plastics, but reconstructive, hand, microsurgery, and treatment of burns are all forms of this specialty.

Subspecialties within the plastic medical field include burns, cosmetic, craniofacial, hand, micro, and pediatric. Ensure your surgeon is qualified, experienced and certified by the Amercian Board of Plastic Surgery in your particular field.

Skin grafting is a very common procedure and can be taken from a donor of the same species (allograft), from a donor of a different species (xenograft), or even from the patient themselves (autograft). Naturally, autograft has the lowest chance of rejection and post-operative complications.

Microsurgery is used to transfer tissue for coverage of a defect when no local tissue is available. Flaps of skin, muscle, bone or fat are removed from one area of the body to another and reconnected to a blood supply by suturing miniscule arteries and veins.

Atlanta Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is performed to correct functional impairments. Burns, traumatic injuries, congenital and developmental abnormalities, infection, disease, cancer and tumors can all be improved. Often function is not preserved or improved and instead, approximating a normal appearance is a more important goal. The most common types of reconstructive procedures are tumor removal, laceration and scar repair, hand surgery, and breast reduction.

Cosmetic plastic enhancement is interested only in aesthetics and enhancement of appearance. Often restoration of a normal or enhanced appearance can result in loss of function, as with loss of breast sensation after augmentation.

The most common cosmetic procedures are breast augmentation, liposuction, nasal procedure, eyelid procedure, and abdominoplasty. Other popular surgeries include chemical peel, labiaplasty, lip enhancement, otoplasty, facelift, liposuction, chin or cheek augmentation, filler injections, and laser skin resurfacing.

Overall, the risks of reconstructive or cosmetic enhancement are relatively small. Serious complication occurs in less than half of one percent of operation. However, adverse events that can occur include aspiration, blood loss, blood clots, infection, abnormal healing, dissatisfaction with final results, skin necrosis, asymmetry, slow healing, numbness or tingling, irregularities, or seroma and hematoma development.

These risks can be reduced in patients that are in good general health before the procedure. It is also important to stop taking aspirin and quit smoking at least two weeks before and after your operation. Be sure to choose a surgeon you trust and can discuss your realistic expectations with.