Reconstructive Surgery

Restoration and recognition of structure, form, and function are the goals of reconstructive surgery. Reconstructive surgery can be performed on all who have suffered from birth defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma or injury, infection or disease.

Armed with technologically advanced methods or microsurgery, free tissue transfer and cutting-edge technology, the plastic surgeons of the Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery Institute at UC Irvine will design a treatment plan specialized to your needs.

What is Reconstructive Surgery?

Plastic surgeons perform more than one million reconstructive procedures every year. Reconstructive surgery can help people of all ages, whether it's a child with a birth defect, a young adult injured in an accident, or an older adult with an age-related problem.

Reconstructive surgery has different goals than cosmetic surgery. It is focused on treatin abnormal body structures such as birth defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma or injury, infection, tumors, or disease. Improved function is the intended outcome, but aesthetic improvements are common as well.

Although reconstructivef surgery cannot achieve perfection, modern techniques allow plastic surgeons to achieve improvements in form and function that were thought to be impossible a decade ago.

Who has Reconstructive Surgery?

Patients fit into two basic categories:

• Those who have congenital deformities, otherwise known as birth defects
• Those with developmental deformities, acquired as a result of accident, infection, disease, or aging.

Examples of congenital abnormalities include birthmarks; cleft-lip and palate deformities; hand deformities and abnormal breast development.Acquired deformities include burn wounds, lacerations, growths, and aging problems.

The distinction between cosmetic and reconstructive surgery is not always clear. In some cases, you may be surprised to find that an aesthetic procedure can achieve a reconstructive goal. For example, some older adults with redundant or drooping eyelid skin blocking their field of vision might have eyelid surgery. Or an adult whose face has an asymmetrical appearance because of paralysis might undergo a facelift.

Large breast size is another example. Breast reduction, or reduction mammaplasty, is a procedure that treats discomfort, but also gives women smaller, more proportional breasts. The surgery, therefore, has both aesthetic and functional goals.

Another example is otoplasty. A young child might have otoplasty to correct prominent or deformed ears. Usually, health insurance policies will consider the cost of reconstructive surgery a covered expense.

Learn More About Reconstructive Surgery in Orange County

To learn more about reconstructive surgery in Orange County at UC Irvine, please call 714-456-3077 or email our offices today. We are located in the city of Orange, CA. View a map to our Orange County plastic surgery practice.