Electrical injuries comprise only a small fraction of burn injuries admitted to specialized centers. High voltage injuries may not be survivable. The flow of current through the body interferes with tissues conducting electricity on their own (nerves, heart) and expends its energy on tissues with highest resistance, the bones, causing high temperature damage from the […]
Craniofacial Surgery
Craniofacial surgery in its purest form is plastic surgery of the skeleton of the face and skull. It was developed into a subspecialty of plastic surgery based on several principles and discoveries put forward by Paul Tessier of Paris in the 1960’s. Tessier proved in the laboratory and the operating room that it was possible […]
Specialist Treatment of Burn Injuries
The special expertise and training necessary to treat burn injuries is not widely available. Completion of a one year fellowship training in this area, as the lead surgeon of Trinidad Institute of Plastic Surgery has done 2001-2002 at the Tampa Bay Regional Burn Center, University of South Florida, is certainly desirable before embarking on the […]
Fronto-orbital advancement for correction of craniosynostosis
Numerous craniofacial deformities are characterized by orbital dystopia and anterior skull base deformities. Examples are Crouzon’s syndrome, Apert’s syndrome, coronal and metopic craniosynostosis. Two concepts developed by Paul Tessier (the father of craniofacial surgery) in the 1960’s are crucial to the understanding of the correction of these deformities. Firstly, the superficial skeleton of the eyesocket […]
A Cleft Pastiche
Aesthetic Craniomaxillofacial Surgery of the Midface
The techniques of skeletal surgery of the midface were originally developed to treat problems related to congenital and posttraumatic deformities affecting the occlusion. Occlusion – the way the upper and lower teeth come together – is determined by the position of the tooth bearing arches of the upper and lower jaws relative to each other. […]
Cleft Lip and Palate – Yardsticks for Perfection
Cleft lip and palate implies an often 20+ years rehabilitation process for the affected individual starting a few days after birth. The reward of this multistage, interdisciplinary process can be a near normal appearance. The luxury of this treatment in a global perspective is restricted to a privileged few in highly affluent countries. Children born […]