Features
New approaches to soft tissue reconstruction involving adipose tissue engineering
Introduction The spectrum of patients affected by subcutaneous tissue loss is both wide and varied, including those who have undergone tumour removal, trauma patients, such as those injured in road traffic accidents, and individuals who have suffered from deep burns...
Facial nerve palsy and Facial Palsy UK
The term facial palsy is most commonly used to describe a paralytic lower motor neurone (LMN) dysfunction of the facial nerve. Upper motor neurone facial palsy, for example due to strokes and intra-cranial tumours, spares the forehead muscles and will...
When a patient asks for your insurance details…
Coming from a patient, the question “Do you have insurance?” is almost certain to put a medical practitioner on edge. Not being a common query, many do not have a ready answer and instead have to grapple with some questions...
Plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine: specialties and specialists
Dr Nikolaos Metatoxos has written an excellent article ‘How to establish a successful practice in aesthetic medicine’, which looks at the business of aesthetic medicine and underlines some very important ethical issues. When comparing hospital doctors and aesthetic medicine practitioners...
2nd Chance: reconstructive surgery for life reconstruction
Many populations throughout the developing world have no access to the specialist healthcare needed by patients who have suffered severe burns, war injuries or congenital disorders. The specialties of plastic and maxillofacial surgery can make a vital contribution and PMFA...
Acid Survivors Trust International
The shocking acid attack on two British nationals in Zanzibar in August 2013 drew attention to a little known and under-reported form of interpersonal violence. Acid attack is a particularly vicious form of a premeditated assault, where acid is thrown,...
Patient-Specific Hybrid Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty has changed considerably over the past one hundred years, not only in terms of the surgical techniques used, but also in the outcome desired by patients. There are now a large number of surgical techniques used which deal with...
Training in Facial Plastic Surgery in the UK
Following the Keogh report earlier this year into the quality of cosmetic surgery in the UK, surgical training into cosmetic surgery is high on the agenda. A Cosmetic Surgery Interspecialty Committee at the Royal College of Surgeons will be discussing...
Sir Archibald McIndoe and the Guinea Pig Club
The early life of Sir Archibald McIndoe Archibald Hector McIndoe was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 4th May, 1900. His father John was a printer and mother Mabel an artist. He was the second eldest child of four children....
Mercy Mission: all aboard with Mercy Ships off the coast of West Africa
Countries along the coast of West Africa are amongst the poorest in the world. Extreme levels of poverty often lead to poor outcomes or fatalities in many medical conditions that would be eminently treatable, with good outcomes in more developed...
The Challenge of Renaissance, not Reconstruction: the aftermath of an acid attack
What madness makes a human being perpetrate a crime that is so horrible, so evil that makes it a capital offense (in Bangladesh) even though the death involved is of a person who remains alive? The motivation behind an interpersonal...
A Reaction to the ‘Keogh Report’
In April 2013, the British Government’s report on regulation and safety issues in the cosmetic surgery sector was produced, authored by NHS Medical Director Prof Sir Bruce Keogh. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the British Association of...