As in the previous message ‘What is Plastic Surgery?’ we discussed the origins of Plastic Surgery and depth of scope of a Plastic Surgeon.  This brings us to the new topic of hammer and nail.  There is an old adage that states ‘if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail!’.

The reason I wanted to discuss this is the booming industry of Cosmetic Medicine.  Many individuals, including physicians of many specialties and even non-physicians are entering the market of Cosmetic Medicine (medical procedures and products to enhance the appearance).  There is little, if any regulation on the training and treatments so the public can be mislead by the degree of training and expertise of the individual.  If the training consists only of a weekend course or having a brief tutorial the level of knowledge and experience is obviously limited .

Physicians trained in the surgical aspects of cosmetic surgery must understand the entire spectrum of options available, both surgical and non-surgical.  Those trained in Cosmetic Medicine ONLY do not have the surgical background nor can they perform the surgical procedures.  Thus, there can be a tendency to push the limit with the only tools you have available. In other words, “if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.”

By consulting with a board certified plastic surgeon for your concerns, you have have the opinion of an expert that has ‘all the tools’ and options to tailor a plan to fit your particular goals, desires, recuperation and financial constraints.

bjl

Your questions and comments are highly encouraged as we want this to be educational and interactive.  We will try to answer questions and respond to comments as timely as possible with the limits of our schedules.

The term Plastic Surgery is derived from the Greek word Plastikos which means “to mold or shape”. The discipline arose from several surgical specialties combining forces to salvage and reconstruct terribly devastating blast and shrapnel injuries during World War I. Thus, Plastic Surgery was born.

The purpose of reconstructive surgery is to make ‘abnormal’ tissue function and appear more ‘normal’. This can be from trauma, cancer or congenital anomalies. After years of innovation and experience in reconstructive surgery, techniques to make normal tissue look better (cosmetic surgery) soon followed.

Plastic surgeons “operate on the skin and its’ contents” as one of my professors always said. This includes burns, dog bites, microvascular limb salvage, facial fractures, flesh-eating infections, covering broken bones and hearts with muscle flaps to liposuction, tummy tucks, face and eyelid lifts, lasers, Botox, Restylane and total skin care. We truly do operate on the skin and it’s contents.

It takes YEARS of training to become a board certified Plastic Surgeon (not just a weekend course) to be competent to do the above surgeries. When it comes to cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, Plastic Surgeons are the EXPERTS. Look for the symbol of board certification (www.plasticsurgery.org) when choosing your surgeon. By the way, we have seven at Summit Plastic Surgery.

bjl

Welcome to the first Summit Plastic Surgery Blog message.  The physicians of SPS will post messages regularly on this blog on topics of interest in the Plastic Surgery world.  Your comments and questions are highly encouraged as we want this to be educational and interactive.  We will try to answer questions and respond to comments as timely as possible with the limits of our schedules.

Please tells your friends and spread the word and start sending questions and topic requests.

Brian J. Lee, M.D., F.A.C.S.