| Dr. Steven Haase is a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Here the Doctor has answered some of the common questions Bizymoms visitors have about Reconstructive Surgery.
Q. What is reconstructive surgery?
I consider reconstructive surgery to be that which helps restore form and function that have been lost due to various degenerative processes, such as trauma, aging, or disease.
Q. What is the difference between Cosmetic and Reconstructive surgery?
Plastic surgery includes both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Sometimes the differences are hard to separate, since many reconstructive procedures improve the overall aesthetics of a situation. I suppose one definition of cosmetic surgery would be purely elective surgery to enhance personal aesthetics. I personally do NO purely cosmetic surgery.
Q. What benefits does Reconstructive surgery provide?
My focus is usually on repair of trauma, restoration of function, relief of pain, and to a lesser extent, improving aesthetics.
Q. Who is a good candidate for Reconstructive surgery?
Any well-informed patient with reasonable goals and expectations is a suitable reconstructive candidate. However, not every problem has a perfect surgical solution. My job is to tell patients what surgeries might be available to help them, and help them choose the most reasonable option.
Q. Does Reconstructive surgery have possible risks and complications?
All surgery has some risk, and complications do occur despite our best training, best intentions, and best science. My role is to tell patients what those risks are, and place those potential complications in context. I never recommend surgery if I think the risks are greater than the potential benefits.
Q. How long does it take to recover from Reconstructive surgery?
The types of procedures are so varied, that answering this is difficult. Most traumatic hand injuries take months of rehabilitation to recover; some of my carpal tunnel patients are back at work within a week. The range is very wide, depending on the surgery performed.
Q. Does Reconstructive surgery leave any visible scarring?
Any incision made by a surgeon leaves a scar, in my experience. As plastic surgeons, we try to align/arrange/hide the scars to make them as unnoticeable as possible. All of my surgical patients have scars: some are really hard to see, some are easily noticed. However, almost all my patients are glad they had their surgery, so for them, the scars are worth it.
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