| Dr. Arthur Handal 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 the difference between Cosmetic and Reconstructive surgery?
A. Well reconstructive surgery is done basically to bring somebody back to their normal appearance whether it is from a traumatic experience, a cancer related experience or an accident or a congenital defect. Cosmetic surgery’s aim is to rejuvenate and make someone look youthful or to augment a certain part of the body with an implant strictly for cosmetic and aesthetic reasons. Cosmetic surgery is a purely elective surgery - it is something that the patient chooses. For instance, a rhinoplasty – you can operate on someone’s nose for breathing problems. That would be considered reconstructive. However, if you wish to change the appearance of the nose, that would be considered cosmetic surgery. The same case applies to the breasts. If someone is having breast surgery due to cancer, such as a mastectomy, that would be considered reconstruction. If it was simply for breast augmentation or a breast lift, that would be considered a cosmetic operation.
Q. What benefits does Reconstructive surgery provide?
A. Well the benefits that reconstructive surgery provides are that it restores people’s functions to normal. It also restores their appearance to be as normal as possible, not only so their appearance will be normal, it also restores their self esteem. It assists greatly in psychological recovery from the effects of having either a traumatic experience or a change to their body from a cancer operation or a congenital anomaly.
Q. Who is a good candidate for Reconstructive surgery?
A. A good candidate is someone who has been in an accident and has had to sustain some damage to their body which requires a plastic surgery to correct it. A good candidate might also be someone who has had cancer and requires some reconstruction due to the cancer – this could be a mastectomy. This could also be due facial cancers where the skin and bone have been removed. Others could include someone who has a congenital anomaly – there are many people who are born with problems such as cleft lip and palates, which call for a reconstructive plastic surgery procedure. In 1991, I went to India on a mission with my plastic surgeon colleagues to perform corrective surgery for cleft lips. While we were there we also addressed other congenital anomalies and other traumatic injuries. It was a very rewarding experience and that’s an example of reconstructive surgery. Other than cleft lip and palates, there are a variety of other congenital problems, which could be addressed through reconstructive surgery.
Q. Does Reconstructive surgery have possible risks and complications?
A. For that matter, any operation has risks and possible complications. It depends not just on the skills of the surgeon but also depends on what problems the patient presents and other issues such as their circulation, blood supply and even the type of problem they are presenting with. Age can also contribute to this especially if there’s any other associated problem. For instance, if somebody has cardiac problems or if he or she is a smoker. Smoking is a very detrimental habit that patients can be involved with, as it really affects their healing process especially when skin operations are performed. This is because it interferes with the circulation of the skin and so there are lot of risks and complications, which can arise. In a few words, a lot of it depends on the patient’s status as far as his/her health is concerned.
Q. How long does it take to recover from Reconstructive surgery?
A. It depends on the operation you are doing. Believe it or not some of these operations recover very quickly. In general most people recover within one to three weeks from an operation. This time period doesn’t refer to the time when you start seeing the final results. The final results may appear anywhere between 6 months to 2 years.
Q. Does Reconstructive surgery leave any visible scarring?
A. Any surgery leaves scarring. Firstly, the key is to do the most meticulous closure that you can possibly do. Secondly, doctors need to have a good follow up with the patient and keep on top of the way the patient is healing. Thirdly, the scarring like I said eventually will be minimized. On some patients the scars may almost disappear within several weeks. However, on some patients it can take a couple of years. The next thing is it depends on how the patient heals and even their skin type. Irrespective of how the technique or how well the surgeon sutures the incisions, they can still develop a hypertrophy scarring or colloids. This is mostly due to the way they heal and how their skin heals. On the other hand, that is something, which can be addressed if there’s a problem. In general it’s partially what the surgeon does and the rest lies in how the patient heals. Also each part of the body heals differently. In general the face heals the best and the extremities have a tendency to heal with more scarring.
Q. Is Reconstructive surgery covered by insurance?
A. Reconstructive surgery is almost always covered by insurance. If it’s a legitimate reconstructive procedure, most surgeries will be covered by insurance
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