Raising the bar for safer cosmetic surgery in the UK – part 1

In part one of a two-series article Professor James Frame, from the Anglia Ruskin University, gives us his opinion on what needs to be done to improve cosmetic surgery and patient safety in the UK. Cosmetic surgery is most easily...

CQC regulators and private hospitals need more common sense

There is a fundamental flaw in the way regulatory bodies are allowed to pressure and scare perfectly functioning private hospitals. Invariably the regulators themselves are of ordinary stock and have to justify their salaries by increasing administrative workloads on others....

Multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer conservation – therapeutic mammoplasty

Edinburgh-based plastic surgeon Ewa Majdak-Paredes provides us with a comprehensive review of therapeutic mammoplasty, a multidisciplinary approach to breast-conserving surgery with an emphasis on oncological safety and good aesthetic outcomes. Breast cancer Each year over 55,000 women in the UK...

A picture is worth a thousand words… communicating with your patients more effectively

Communicating information effectively with patients is essential yet often challenging. Plastic Surgeon Gavin Miller takes us through his approach to using online resources to make the process as effective as possible. Getting ideas across to other people isn’t always easy,...

The importance of skin preparation

With both aesthetic procedures and antibiotic resistance on the rise, good skin disinfection to reduce the risk of infection is more vital than ever. Anna Baker takes us through the evidence behind commonly used skin preparation formulations for aesthetic injectable...

Clitoral reconstructive surgery after female genital cutting

Female genital mutilation / cutting (FGM/C), aka female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “All procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons” [1]. Practised in Africa and other...

British Foundation for International Surgery and Training

Two of the UK’s most innovative Plastic Surgeons, Barbara Jemec and Wee Lam, give a fascinating account of the work of BFIRST overseas and, perhaps most importantly, explain how you can get involved. The British Foundation for International Surgery and...

Closed rhinoplasty Serdev techniques

Why is rhinoplasty so important? Facial beauty and harmony are dependent on correct aesthetic angles, volumes and proportions. The complex face is properly divided into three equal parts: forehead, nose, and lower part (where the upper lip forms a ratio...

Real-world use of telemedicine – a picture is worth a thousand words

Recent advances in mobile phone camera technology and app software design have allowed photos of patients and their wounds to be sent from any smartphone to a secure NHS database, which can then be accessed by the relevant clinician with...

Canniesburn: 50 years at the forefront of plastic surgery

Past and present colleagues and friends recently celebrated 50 years of the Canniesburn Plastic Surgery Unit, with scientific meetings held at The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow. Friendships were renewed and memories of being part of the...

Reconstruction of complex wounds in the trunk and pelvis (part 2)

In this second part of this two-part article we begin by looking at component separation which is a technique of reconfiguring anatomical layers to allow intrinsic reconstruction of the integrity of the anterior abdominal wall. We then move into the...

Reconstruction of complex wounds in the trunk and pelvis (part 1)

This is the first part of a two-part article looking at the challenges of reconstruction of complex defects in the torso. The articles are based on a presentation given at the World Union of Wound Healing Societies held in Yokohama...