UCI Plastic Surgery
UCI Plastic Surgery 
Pediatrics
Pediatric Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
The surgeons at UCI Plastic Surgery work closely with other specialists to treat children with a wide range of conditions that may benefit from plastic and reconstructive surgery. We have the expertise in pediatric surgery to correct birth anomalies in babies and young children and repair damage from injury or illness in older children and adolescents.
Surgery to correct a cleft lip or palate restores a normal appearance to your child’s face, with clear cosmetic and psychosocial benefits. The repair can also address breathing, feeding, and speech problems and reduce the risk of ear infections.
Craniosynostosis
Babies with craniosynostosis have abnormally shaped heads caused by premature joining of sections of the skull. Surgery can separate the skull sections and reshape the head for normal appearance and healthy brain development.
Craniofacial reconstruction can correct a wide range of skull and face defects, including anomalies present at birth and those that occur as a result of injury or tumors. The goal is to restore normal appearance and function and improve a child’s quality of life.
Corrective jaw surgery can fix abnormalities in the size, shape, or position of the jaws. The surgery can address severe overbite or underbite problems and align uneven or asymmetrical jaws for facial balance.
Ear reconstruction creates natural-looking ears for children born with underdeveloped or missing ears. The surgery can also restore attractive, symmetrical ears that have experienced damage as a result of injury or illness.
Vascular Anomalies
Vascular anomalies are birthmarks or tumors made up of blood vessels. Some are concerning for cosmetic reasons, and others may cause functional problems. We can remove them with surgery or non-surgical treatments such as sclerotherapy.
The brachial plexus is the network of nerves in the shoulder that carries signals directing movement from the spinal cord to the arms and hands. Injury to the brachial plexus may require surgery to repair damaged nerves and restore normal arm function.
Hand reconstruction can restore function to hands that have anomalies at birth or damage from injury or illness. Surgery can separate joined digits, reposition digits for improved function when a thumb is missing, and make other repairs.
After cleft palate repair, some children require additional surgery to improve speech capabilities. Other children without cleft palate benefit from a similar surgery to reshape the back of the mouth and improve muscle function for clearer speech.
Gender Surgery
Gender surgery may be an option when a child is born with ambiguous genitalia, such as external genitalia that do not correspond with internal gender structures. Adolescents may also be good candidates for gender-affirming surgery to align their external genitalia with their gender identity.
Craniofacial Distraction
Craniofacial distraction is a technique to reshape the skull and face as part of reconstructive surgery. Distractors attach to points on the bones that have been separated to move them apart gradually, enabling new bone tissue to form in the gap.
Oncology Reconstruction
Cancer patients may benefit from reconstructive surgery to rebuild parts of the face or body that have been removed or damaged by the disease or surgical treatment. Reconstruction may involve grafts or transplants of bone and other tissue.
Microsurgical Reconstruction
Microsurgery is an approach used to repair tiny structures, such as nerves and blood vessels, as part of reconstructive surgery procedures. Surgeons use these techniques when transplanting tissue or rebuilding a damaged part of the body.
Migraine Surgery
Children and adults can have migraine surgery to reduce headache frequency, duration, and intensity. It works by relieving nerve compression at specific points associated with the patient’s headaches.
Schedule a Consultation in Orange County
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and find out how plastic or reconstructive surgery might benefit your child. We’ll answer your questions and explain the treatment options, based on your child’s unique needs. We have five Orange County and Los Angeles-area offices: in Orange, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Newport, and Yorba Linda, CA.
The doctors at UCI Plastic Surgery are leaders in the field of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, with special expertise in treating children. Through their teaching and lecturing roles at UCI, they stay current with state-of-the-art techniques and technology. With their advanced technical skills, they consistently produce better, more natural-looking results for patients of all ages.