CAREER IN PLASTIC SURGERY 

WHY PLASTICS? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plastic Surgery is a versatile specialty where surgeons can practically work on any parts of the body - from the head to toe. The broad area of work also mean that Plastic surgeons often collaborate with other specialised doctors or surgeons to provide the optimal surgical care. Although Plastic Surgery is often misportrayed in the media frequently as Cosmetic Surgery, the main objective and priority of Plastic Surgery is to restore normal form and function and 80% of its work are reconstructive surgery. 

 

Many plastic surgeons work across the specialty but some may find a particular area of interest and may subspecialise into that area. The area of subspecialties are growing as specific surgical procedures are required for different body areas. However, this is the the list of common subspecialties: (1) 

• Breast surgery (reconstruction after cancer, congenital anomalies, cosmetic)

• Burns (skin grafting, flaps and management of skin contractures) 

• Skin cancer (excision and reconstruction, management of metastases)

• Head and neck surgery (reconstruction in oral and aero-digestive tract cancer, facial reanimation, craniofacial surgery) 

• Paediatrics surgery (cleft lip and palate, hypospadias, ear anomalies, skin conditions, rare conditions) 

• Hand and upper limbs (congenital anomalies, hand trauma, degenerative conditions, nerve release) 

• Lower limb trauma reconstruction 

• Microsurgery for bone and soft tissue reconstruction 

• Cutaneous laser surgery

• Pelvic oncology reconstruction 

• Soft-tissue sarcoma 

• Aesthetic (cosmetic) surgery