Silicone is the most common type of material used for implants and has been used in plastic surgery for decades. It's easy to mold into a specific shape, it is. It is easy to mold into a specific shape, is flexible and can be placed in different places on the body. Depending on where the implant should be placed, the silicone may have a hard, rigid shape, or it may have a hard exterior filled with silicone gel to make the implant softer and slightly more flexible. Silicone implants also have a low rate of rejection and complications from patients, so most surgeons are comfortable using them as their preferred option for implants.
At Mayo Clinic, the Plastic Surgery staff has 19 plastic surgeons spread over three campuses, with specialized training and skills in one or more of the various reconstructive and cosmetic surgery services that include cosmetic plastic surgery, breast surgery, reconstructive surgery, craniofacial surgery, facial reconstructive surgery, reconstructive microsurgery, pediatric plastic surgery, laser surgery and hand surgery. There are even more material options available to plastic surgeons depending on the type of procedure, but the most common materials used are silicone, Gore-Tex and Med-Por. As you can see below, plastic surgeons perform reconstructive surgeries all over the body and often work with other disciplines surgical. Plastic surgery is a broad field that includes not only cosmetic or cosmetic surgery, but also the surgical repair of congenital deformities, such as cleft lip and palate, post-surgical reconstruction, such as breast and head and neck defects, and the correction of post-traumatic defects.
Med-Por is currently used less commonly in plastic surgery, but is sometimes still used as a chin implant. Plastic surgeons perform nerve surgery to treat a variety of conditions, such as nerve decompression (i.e., in the case of the abdominal wall, plastic surgeons use their knowledge of the anatomy of the abdominal wall to treat complex and recurring defects).Usually, a board-certified plastic surgery surgeon has graduated from an accredited medical school and has completed at least 5 years of postgraduate medical education, usually 3 years of general surgery and 2 years of plastic surgery. Microsurgery is a field of plastic surgery that involves the use of magnifying glasses or microscopic magnifications to anastomose small blood vessels (arteries and veins), nerves, and lymphatic vessels. Plastic surgeons restore the chest wall after tumor resection using a mesh or a rigid fixation for skeletal reconstruction, as well as with a covering of free or pedicled tissue.
Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty that deals both with improving a person's appearance and with reconstructing facial and body tissue defects caused by diseases, injuries or congenital disorders. Plastic surgery is a broad surgical subspecialty that, unlike other specialties, is not limited to a single organ system. Plastic surgeons also collaborate with dermatologists to reconstruct defects caused by Mohs surgery to treat skin cancer, particularly those found in cosmetically sensitive areas, such as the face or hands. Orthopedic surgeons often collaborate with plastic surgeons to rebuild and save the lower limb after trauma, tumor resection, or chronic injury.
Plastic surgery procedures include not only cleft lip and palate surgery, but also primary and revisional rhinoplasties. Plastic surgeons are uniquely trained to solve defect reconstruction problems anywhere in the body.