Reconstructive Surgery
Restoring form and function after injury, cancer or a congenital difference, where the problem sets the plan.
Reconstructive surgery is grouped with cosmetic surgery because the same techniques and often the same surgeons are involved, and the two answer different questions. Cosmetic surgery changes something that works. Reconstructive surgery restores something that does not, or closes a defect that should not be open. The plan starts from the problem rather than from a preference: whether a wound can be closed, whether a hand can grip, whether an eyelid protects the eye, whether a child can feed and speak.
That starting point changes almost everything about how care is organised. Function usually comes first and appearance follows, because a reconstruction that looks right but does not work has not solved the problem. Many reconstructions are staged over months or years rather than completed in one operation, because tissue needs to heal between stages and because growth in a child changes the plan. Some are urgent and some are planned years ahead.
The sites in this group are split by the kind of problem rather than by the technique. Defects that need covering, congenital differences that need a sequence of operations, injuries to the hand, and swelling in a limb each have their own assessment and their own timeline. The service overview is the quickest way to see the whole range, and reading by problem is the quickest way to find the pages that apply to you.
Background and service lines
The medical system behind the cluster.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How is reconstructive surgery different from cosmetic surgery?
The starting point. Cosmetic surgery changes a feature that functions normally, and the goal is set by preference. Reconstructive surgery starts from a defect, an injury or a congenital difference, and the goal is to restore function and form. The techniques overlap heavily, and the same operation can be either depending on why it is being done, which is why the reason matters more than the label.
Why does reconstruction often take more than one operation?
Because tissue has to heal between stages, and because some problems change as a person grows. A reconstruction may begin with closing a defect, continue with refining the shape once the tissue has settled, and finish with a revision of a scar. In children, a plan can be spread over years so that each operation happens at a point when the anatomy supports it.
What does a flap do that a graft cannot?
A graft is tissue without its own blood supply, so it survives only if the surface beneath it can supply one. A flap carries its own vessels, which means it can cover a defect over bone, over a device or in an area with a poor blood supply, and it can bring bulk as well as cover. That is why flaps are used where a graft would not take.
Can reconstruction avoid a scar?
No operation can. What reconstruction aims at is placing scars where they are least conspicuous, keeping them as narrow as healing allows, and planning the sequence so that later stages can address the earlier ones. Scars mature over many months, so the appearance early on is not the appearance at the end, and revision is a normal part of some plans.
When does hand surgery need to happen quickly?
Injury involving tendons, nerves or an open wound is usually time sensitive, because the result depends on how soon the tissue is repaired and on how the hand is managed afterwards. Congenital differences and contractures are planned instead, and the timing depends on growth and on function. Either way, therapy after the operation is part of the treatment rather than an optional extra.
Does reconstruction consider appearance as well as function?
Yes, and function usually sets the order. The first aim is a result that works: a hand that grips, an eyelid that closes, a palate that allows speech, a wound that is closed. Once that is secure, shape and symmetry are refined, often in later stages. Appearance is part of the goal rather than a separate one, but it rarely comes before function in the plan.
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