Plastic Surgeons - Treating Pediatric Deformities

The job of pediatric plastic surgeons is to work with children who have need for reconstructive surgery. The children's needs can range from congenital deformations such as cleft lip, syndactyly or polydactyly, positional plagiocephaly to craniocynotosis.

Pediatric plastic surgeons are different from others in the field in that their knowledge must be vast in several different body parts. He must also be skilled in working with the skin and muscle of a growing child-a consideration absent to those who work primarily with adults. There are several kinds of conditions present in children that need the attention of a skilled pediatric surgeon.

One of the more often seen issues is that of a cleft lip which occurs when the tissues in the upper lip and jaw do join together during fetal development. Although it can sometime interfere with feeding, this usually does not cause other medical problems. The difficult thing about a cleft lip unless it is in conjunction with a cleft palate is that it may considered by insurance companies as an elective procedure. A cleft palate however, can affect speech formation, nutritional consumption, and other heath issues and can be addressed as a reconstructive medical necessity.

Syndactyly and polydactyly are the most common malformations affecting the limbs. The former means that fingers and toes fail during fetal development to differentiate into distinct digits. The latter is the presence of extra digits at birth. While syndactyly is certainly a medical concern that needs to be addressed for normal function in society, the other issue may be considered cosmetic if the patient can learn to use the hand and feet normally and the anomaly is not expected to cause other health issues such as loss of blood flow or infection.

Pediatric plastic surgeons have also seen a surge in positional plagiocephaly due to the 1992 "Back to Sleep" campaign by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Although the recommendation to place babies on their backs to sleep decreased SIDS rapidly by halve, because babies spend the majority of their time with pressure on their soft skulls, a disruption in proper fusing can occur. This is called craniocynotosis. Sometimes the problem can be solved with what plastic surgeons call "helmet therapy" and with attention to repositioning during sleep, but sometimes surgery is needed to correct the condition.

Like any field with a children's specialty, a pediatric medical professional must be skilled and familiar with many diagnosis and treatments for the entire body. It also takes patience and certain knack for dealing with not only children but with parents to be a successful and sought after pediatric plastic surgeon. The devastating congenital defects that children suffer are hard accept especially if they are considered merely cosmetic as the emotional repercussion of these defects do not mandate correction even though the child's life will certainly be negatively impacted.