Understanding Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery – What We Need to Know?

When we hear the term “Plastic Surgery” what comes to our mind are popular cosmetic procedures that change an individual’s outward appearance. In reality, it is much beyond this. Plastic surgery is surgical specialty dedicated for soft tissue reconstruction all over the body, it also helps reconstruct defects due to birth disorders, trauma, burns and diseases. Cosmetic Surgery is a subspecialty of plastic surgery that focusses on improving the appearance by surgical and medical techniques. Cosmetic procedures are elective surgeries based on an individual’s need discussed with the treating physician. Dr. Mahmoud Soliman, Plastic Surgeon at Zulekha Hospital Dubai and Dr. Abdulmoneim Fathy, Plastic Surgeon at Zulekha Hospital Sharjah help us understand various aspects of plastic and cosmetic procedures by answering some frequently asked questions.

What are the different types of plastic surgeries?

Many people think plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are the same but actually that is not true. Cosmetic surgery is a type of plastic surgery. And plastic surgery is comprehensive term that describes a surgical specialty that includes cosmetic surgery, reconstructive surgery, burns and microsurgery. Plastic surgeons deal with patients of different ages and carry out the following types of procedures: Congenital anomalies’ cases such as cleft lip, cleft palate, tongue tie, prominent auricle, hemangioma and congenital hand anomalies, burn cases, either acute or chronic and post burn complications such as hypertrophic scars, keloid and joint contractions.

Other cases treated with plastic surgeries include cases with major and minor soft tissue trauma, chronic and acute wound problems, pressure sores, diabetic wound care and ulcers, facial palsy reanimation and correction, breast reconstruction due to tumor, infections or burns, reconstruction of facial and body defects due to birth disorders, traumas, burns, tumor and diseases.

Do I need to be worried about scars and wounds after my surgery?

Scarring is a natural part of the healing process after an injury due to any cause. Its appearance and its treatment depend on multiple factors. Now, with plastic surgery we can achieve minimal scars and good appearance of any wound by choosing the appropriate technique and sutures material. Additionally, the types of dressing and the post-operative wound care factors would give the best result and make the final scar appearance optimal.

How frequently does a patient need to follow up?

It depends on the type of operation but in general we are focusing on minimizing the post-operative hospital stay and follow up, allowing the patients to return to their normal life activity after any procedure.

What are some precautions taken to ensure patient satisfaction?

In fact we always aim at preventing post-operative patient's dissatisfaction by many methods such as:

• Proper selection of patients.
• Good choice of the procedures that are best suited for the patients as not all operations are suitable for all patients.
• Explain each step of the treatment/procedure from the start and discuss everything related to the operation and any expected complications with the patients.
• Early detection and good management of complications.

How long will it be before I see results after my surgery?

For procedures such as Breast Augmentation and Liposuction, the results are seen immediately post operations. However, the final results are obtained three months after surgery (during this period, the patient needs to wear a pressure garment/binder at all times). Whereas the effect of Botox starts 3-7 days post injection and persists for six months to a year on average.

When is a liposuction done? How should an individual maintain oneself post operation?

Liposuction can be done for numerous parts of the body, such as the neck, chest, abdomen, flank, back, arms, thighs and any other area of the body that has an excess of fat. There are a couple things one needs to follow such as reducing calorie intake while eating a healthy diet, drinking lots of water for hydration and exercising on a regular basis in order to maintain the results achieved.