People who have unfortunately suffered mild to severe burns injuries in the past can benefit from reconstructive surgery to somewhat restore their normal appearance. Reconstructive Surgery for Burns is mostly required when initial burns have healed. If the wounds are severe, the patients may have to undergo debridement which refers to removal of dead tissue prior to reconstructive surgery. However this procedure is known to give good results to a patient.
What are the elements of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery for burns?
• Skin grafting: Skin is removed from the donor area and transplanted to the affected area. Split thickness skin grafts and full thickness skin grafts are used for the procedure depending upon the requirement. A dermatome is also used. Recovery time for split thickness skin graft is relatively quick as compared to the recovery time for full thickness skin graft.
• Free flap procedure: In this procedure skin, muscle, bone or a combination of all these tissues are transferred along with original blood supply from the donor site for the reconstruction purposes. The procedure consists of microsurgery in which the plastic surgeon sews the tiny blood vessels. The results are quite gratifying.
• Tissue Expansion: This procedure enables your body to grow extra skin in order to cope with reconstruction needs. A balloon expander is used for the same. When enough skin growth has been achieved, it is then used to reconstruct the damaged part.
For Plastic and reconstructive surgery that involves transplantation and removal of the skin or composite tissue, the patient strictly needs to follow the guidelines of care and general instructions as issued by the plastic surgeon. Even after the discharge, special care needs to be taken to prevent any type of infection while recuperating.
It is important to exercise patience with the healing process after Reconstructive surgery for burns. After the surgery, you will notice changes in the appearance, color, and feeling of your skin at the site of damage, however it will take some amount of time before you begin to notice it completely. Feeling of numbness and tingling is common but these will tend to fade away as you progress towards recovery.
Meticulous suturing is required for reconstructive microvascular surgery used to treat leg defects. The surgeon may request preoperative testing to ensure normal anatomy and assess the amount of operative success. The procedure is somewhat long and extensive and may require at least one week of hospitalization in most of the cases. However with the good results that accrue, one should really not think too much about this requirement.
When can a patient resume daily activities after the surgery?
In majority of the patients who undergo surgery, getting easily tired and fatigued is a common problem. It is imperative to pace yourself to daily activities according to your body. Rest if you feel tired and do not overwork. Gradually all will be back to normal in a few weeks time.
If you have been looking to seek an effective solution for plastic and reconstructive surgery for burns, it’s imperative to bank upon a competent surgical facility. Tricity Institute of Plastic Surgery (TIPS) has a team of dedicated and proficient plastic surgeons who are renowned across the medical arena. If you need to seek more information about the burns & reconstructive surgery, you should get in touch with TIPS right now. Just fill in the contact form online in order to seek a free consultation and we will get in touch with you. You can also call us at the given number. Be assured of the fact that all our communications will be strictly private.