Pediatric Plastic Surgery Fort Worth

Kids come in various shapes, sizes, colors and quantities, and so do their body parts. Their ears may be too prominent or misshapen, or perhaps completely missing. Their fingers may be too many or too few, webbed or fused. They grow assorted lumps and bumps anywhere they can. A child's self-consciousness may extend to a nose occupying more of his or her face than acceptable. And of course, kids always seem to cut, break, burn, crush or otherwise injure themselves, usually at the most inconvenient times for their parents. All of these altered body arrangements are in the purview of plastic surgery.

Cleft Lip & Cleft Palate Fort Worth

Cleft lip and palate is truly a social disease; the child has problems with appearance and often with speech and hearing as well. A classic surgical timetable would have most cleft lips repaired around three to four months of age, with cleft palate repair traditionally at one year. Often, such children require placement of tubes in their ears for proper venting to avoid loss of hearing. Both speech and hearing should be followed for years, with additional interceptive surgery for both as the need arises. Subsequent orthodontics, dental arch bone grafting and correction of associated nasal deformities extend the program well into the teenage years.

What a pleasure to defeat on of Mother Nature's cruelest tricks on humanity. These kids go through a lot and deserve our patience and respect. Our orofacial clinic has been established, bringing together various specialties for evaluation of the special needs for such children.

Otoplasty Fort Worth

When a child looks out-of-the-ordinary, it gets rough in his or her social scene. Prominent ears, the most common congenital ear deformity, stand out early, just asking for ridicule. Self esteem suffers immeasurably, causing tears about ears. This is usually brought to parents' attention, as it is often the one surgery that a child specifically asks for. Prominent ears are often caused by an excess of cartilage as well as its lack of proper definition. Surgical correction addresses both situations, reducing and reshaping with permanent internal stitches. Other congenital ear deformities with descriptive names such as Satyr ear, cryptopia (hidden ear) and lop ear can be quite complex, requiring ingenuity for correction. After surgery, the ears should be protected for six to eight months to allow good long-term healing for maintaining the new look.

Children can undergo surgical correction anytime after age 5 1/2 years. For adults who are tired of hiding their ears, corrections can even be performed under local anesthesia. Split earlobes, a very common problem from heavy or large earrings, can readily be repaired in this fashion as well.

Microtia, a small or even missing ear from birth, requires creation of a new framework out of rib cartilage. After harvesting such cartilage, it is carved, sculptered, and placed beneath the skin at its now location. Other subsequent procedures further tailor the new ear.

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Rhinoplasty Fort Worth

More than any other facial feature, teenagers are most keenly aware of their noses. It's there in the mirror every day, front and center. The embarrassment of a big or distorted nose extends into adulthood, distracting from an otherwise glowing personality. Rhinoplasty ("nose job") was originally designed for reduction of nasal hump and projection and straightening deviation. The operation today is directed toward both appearance and strength. Providing cartilage support of the nasal top is extremely important for long-lasting results -- as important as size, shape and position.

Sometimes nasal airway obstruction can be dealt with simultaneously by adjustment of a deviated septum, while utilizing the septal cartilage removed for nasal tip correction. The open rhinoplasty approach, through small incisions beneath the nose, allows an excellent access for alteration of internal structures which shape the external appearance. Adjusting nasal bone position, nostril flare, and angulation relative to the upper lip, hump and nasal tip all combine to make rhinoplasty the most complex of cosmetic surgeries that we perform. The greatest challenge of rhinoplasty continues to be the cleft lip individual, where marked nasal distortion requires the most imaginative of surgical endeavors for improvement.

Rhinoplasty is best planned for after completion of facial growth, normally age 16 for girls and a few years later for boys. After surgery, as swelling resolves over several months, the nose will continue to improve in size and shape. A good rhinoplasty should not bring attention to itself, but rather allow the nose to blend naturally with the other facial structures.

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Syndactyly Fort Worth

Syndactyly is the most common congenital malformation of the limbs, characterized by the webbing or fusing together of two or more fingers or toes. Syndactyly exhibits a large degree of variation; digits can be partially fused or can be fused along their entire length. The fusion can be simple, with the digits connected only by skin, or it can be complex, with shared bones, nerves, blood vessels, or nails.

Syndactyly results from an error in fetal development, usually caused by a genetic defect. It can occur by itself as an isolated condition, or as one of several symptoms of a multi-symptom disease. Conditions associated with syndactyly include, but are not limited to, Apert Syndrome, Poland Syndrome, Jarcho-Levin Syndrome, Pfeiffer Syndrome, Holt-Oramand Syndrome, and Edwards Syndrome. Syndactyly can be corrected surgically, usually with the addition of a skin graft.

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