(310) 271-2957
San Francisco Plastic Surgery
The plastic surgeons at San Francisco Plastic Surgery know which plastic surgery method will work best to enhance the beauty of each patient. The doctors here have performed and perfected thousands of procedures from minimally invasive techniques to major reconstructive work. Plastic reconstructive surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. The field of plastic surgery encompasses cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. The most common plastic surgery procedures are liposuction and breast augmentation, however plastic surgeons regularly correct cleft lips and palates in children who would otherwise not be able to eat or speak properly. Surgeons reconstruct faces and limbs after severe trauma and can use one part of the body to restore another body part affected by cancer. Recently, with ongoing research in the field of transplantation, plastic surgeons around the globe have transplanted hands and faces on to severely deformed individuals. The long-term survival of such grafts remains under investigation, however, the surgical possibilities in restoring function and wholeness in individuals continues to expand with modern scientific research.
While famous for aesthetic surgery, at San Francisco Plastic Surgery also includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand surgery, microsurgery, and the treatment of burns. Endoscopic techniques represent a major advance in the practice of surgery and a solution for the patients of today who desire rejuvenation with minimal scarring.
Reconstruction and reconstructive surgery correct functional impairments caused by burns, traumatic injuries (such as facial bone fractures and breaks), congenital abnormalities (such as cleft palates or cleft lips), developmental abnormalities, infection and disease and cancer or tumors.
Reconstructive surgery is, in its broadest sense, the use of surgery to restore the form and function of the body. Reconstruction plastic surgeons use the concept of a reconstruction ladder to manage increasingly complex wounds. This ranges from very simple techniques, such as primary closure and dressings, to procedures that are more complex.
For individuals with severe burns or cuts, skin grafts or other reconstructive techniques are available. Microsurgery or flap procedures are procedures that replace parts of the body affected by injury or disease, such as cancer. Reconstructive surgery corrects facial defects such as cleft lips, breathing problems and chronic infections.
More Resources
Traditional addiction treatment is based primarily on counseling. However, recent discoveries have shown those suffering from addiction often have chemical imbalances that make the recovery process more difficult.
Counselors help individuals identifying behaviors and problems related to their addiction. It can be done on an individual basis, but it's more common to find it in a group setting and can include crisis counseling, weekly or daily counseling, and drop-in counseling supports. They are trained to develop recovery programs that help to reestablish healthy behaviors and provide coping strategies whenever a situation of risk happens. It's very common to see them work also with family members who are affected by the addictions of the individual, or in a community in order to prevent addiction and educate the public. Counselors should be able to recognize how addiction affects the whole person and those around him or her. Counseling is also related to "Intervention"; a process in which the addict's family requests help from a professional in order to get this person into drug treatment. This process begins with one of this professionals' first goals: breaking down denial of the person with the addiction. Denial implies lack of willingness from the patients or fear to confront the true nature of the addiction and to take any action to improve their lives, besides of continuing the destructive behavior. Once this has been achieved, professional coordinates with the addict's family to support them on getting this family member to alcohol drug rehabilitation immediately, with concern and care for this person. Otherwise, this person will be asked to leave and expect no support of any kind until going into drug rehabilitation or alcoholism treatment. An intervention can also be conducted in the workplace environment with colleagues instead of family.