Facial reconstruction is mainly performed on infants who are born with specific facial challenges. It can be done to correct the challenges like cleft lip, cleft palate, craniosynostosis (cranial malformation), congenital growths or tumors. Apart from the infants, grown ups can get deformities on their face due to trauma or tumors at any age. These abnormalities can also be corrected by the facial reconstructive surgery. There are some treatments that can be combined with facial reconstruction surgery.
Skin Cancer Surgery
Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is a surgical procedure for skin cancer patients. In this surgery, skin with malignant lesions is excised. Here, a thin layer of skin tissue is removed to check the malignancy, and then all malignant tissues are removed leaving only the healthy ones. This surgery offers maximum protection of healthy skin and reduces the recurrence of malignancy. After this surgery, the patients are sent for facial reconstructive surgery for removing the defects or holes remaining in the skin.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeries
Facial traumas can cause severe to mild injuries in the facial skeleton. Facial skeleton includes forehead (frontal bone), eye sockets (orbits), cheek bones, nose, upper jaw (maxilla) and lower jaw (mandible). Severe cuts in the scalp, ears, face and neck can also occur in combination with any facial skeleton injury. Such facial trauma can cause damage to the spinal cord, neck region or eyes, or it can block the air circulation. Profuse bleeding is another problem that coexists. Such emergencies have to be treated first followed by various stages of facial reconstructive surgery. All these injuries can be treated together in order to reduce the scars, incisions and post-operative trauma.
Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery
Cleft lip and palate can occur as a congenital anomaly in few children. It can affect other parts of the face like the eyes, ears, nose and cheek when left untreated. These children are more prone to hearing loss, mid ear fluid collection and speech defects. They are also prone to ear infections, as a result of improper draining of fluid from Eustachian tube. Cleft palate can also cause problems while feeding. Such infants need to use special feeding equipment to prevent the entry of food particles into the nose. Such children face ear and dental problems constantly, for which they should take appropriate treatment. They can also undergo speech therapy in order to help them speak normally, and they can also have dental problems like malformed or displaced teeth, missing or extra teeth.
Orthognathic surgery or osteotomy surgery should be performed in kids with unilateral cleft lip if their upper jaw does not match the growth of lower jaw.
