Scars and other defects that have resulted form
injury or infection are the commonest reason for consulting plastic Surgeons
in India. There can be scars or they may be associated with other defects
involving the deeper structures leading to more sever deformation and
functional defects.
- Injury leading to stitch marks
- Burns
- Previous surgery
- White marks over the body
Scar revisions & Z plasty : Simple scars are corrected by
plastic surgery procedure called scar revision. The scar is removed and the
skin and deeper tissues are stitiched back using plastic surgery principals.
The resulting scar is like a fine line. Some times the scars have to be
moved in such away that they lie along the natural crease of skin and so
become less conspicuous, this is performed by technique called Z plasty
SSG (skin Grafting) : Larger scars and those associated with
deformity of joints( contractures) require replacement of skin. The
conventional plastic surgery method in such cases is to take the skin from
the thigh or other parts of body to replace the defect these are called
Split Skin Grafting. The result in split skin grafting has the deformity
correctd but the grafted skin looks like a patch.
Tissue Expansion : Is a recent advance in plastic surgery by which
the skin near the defect is expanded by a devise called tissue expander .
This is a devise that looks like a balloon. The surgery requires two stages
and the results are almost like magic.
Use of Skin Flaps & Composite Tissues : Larger defects that have
loss or deformation of deeper tissues of body like the bones or muscles
require cover by the use of flaps. Simple flaps ar composite flaps can be
transferred from one part of body to another part by different techniques.
Such as pedicled flap transfers and more recently Free flap ( by use of
microvascular surgery) ostly such techniques are required for
reconstructions after cancer surgery.( Reconstructive Surgery following
Cancer)
Surgery for white marks : White marks often result from a skin
disorder called leucoderma or may be the result of burns. By simple
procedure of Melanocyte grafting these white marks can be made to match the
normal skin. It is important to have a control over the primary disease
before such plastic surgery procedures are under taken.
