Plastic Surgery, More than Cosmetics

Plastic Surgery:

-the process of reconstructing or repairing parts of the body by the transfer of tissue, either in the treatment of injury or for cosmetic reasons.

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As I mentioned before I work in a level one trauma center and generally I work with Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as well as Gynecological Surgery. When I tell my friends that I work with plastic surgery almost every time they say “I would really like to have a boob job” which honestly, I’m not judging because I would like one too. A lot of times when I tell people I work with plastic surgery that automatically think of cosmetic procedures such as BBLs and tummy tucks but plastic surgery is way more than just cosmetics.

Since I work in a hospital and not a cosmetic clinic most of the cases that come in are having the procedure due to underlying conditions or diseases. Most of these surgeries aren’t elective surgeries. When we do mastectomies (removal of the breast) and breast implants it’s usually because the patient has cancer. When we do paniculatomies (removal of the pannus) its because it hinders the patient in some way, even causing problems such as hidradenitis. Not to mention that plastic surgery even covers things such as facial fractures, hand surgery and even occasionally feet. We even can do amputations depending  on the reason the limp needs to be amputated. Plastic surgery even covers wound care if necessary.

When I’m asked what are the most interesting cases I’ve seen they are almost always the plastic cases. The gynecology more of the time we’re just removing an organ or repairing something but plastics.. There’s almost always a story. We get freak accidents and car wrecks and sometimes both in one.. One time we had a case where the patient was driving a car and a tractor trailer truck coming from the opposite side hit a deer so hard the deer exploded causing the head of the deer to fly into someone’s windshield causing his face to shatter.. Not to mention the random burn stories and traumatic work injuries.. You really never know what you’re going to get even if you have a general idea of what you’re about to do. You don’t know how big or how deep or how involved the case may be until you see it for yourself. It’s more than interesting and you certainly learn a lot from working in this environment.

I am very blessed to work alongside these wonderful surgeons and helping them change people’s lives for the better. It is truly a rewarding experience.

tune in next week for: Gynecology, More Than Lady-bits.

with love,

c.p