Understanding Plastic Surgery Sub-Specialties

Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the restoration and enhancement of physical deformities. Its two major categories are reconstructive and cosmetic. Reconstructive plastic surgery is concerned with the correction and restoration of form and function, while cosmetic plastic surgery is more concerned with the improvement of appearance. Despite the different motivations, both can be performed to prevent potential diseases and difficulties caused by malformation.

 

The two categories consist of procedures treating special cases. Some of the most common operations include mammoplasty, abdominoplasty, buttock augmentation, and rhytidectomy. Each specialty focuses on improving the function or aesthetic of a specific body part. Mammoplasty, for example, concerns the augmentation, reduction, or reshaping of breasts.

 

Plastic surgery also consists of several sub-specialties designed to deal with general cases. Some plastic surgeons in productive cities like Los Angeles train extensively on popular sub-specialties, which include burn surgery, hand surgery, pediatric surgery, and craniofacial surgery.

 

Burn surgery has two phases—acute, which is done immediately after the burn incident, and reconstructive, which deals with the burn scar. This is a sub-specialty that a trained los angeles plastic surgeon can perform. Since the hands are common burn areas, people often confuse burn surgery with hand surgery. However, the latter concentrates on correcting congenital malformations of the upper extremities.

 

On the other hand, pediatric surgery concerns birth defects and childhood disorders. A los angeles plastic surgeon recommends early treatment for these problems to prevent them from worsening and progressing into adulthood. Some cases that this branch of cosmetic surgery remedies are craniofacial anomalies, hand deformities, cleft lips, and cleft palates.

 

Craniofacial surgery is a sub-specialty that covers a wide array of deformities. It generally corrects craniofacial skeleton and soft tissue damage. It also deals with secondary surgical procedures for the head and face, such as orthognathic operations for the jaw. Since the skull and face are some of the body parts that undergo the most changes between childhood and adulthood, there are separate craniofacial surgery branches for young and older patients. A los angeles plastic surgeon is required to have special training to be licensed providers of these surgical treatments.

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