Manipal Hospital in Bangalore, an institution known for its micro vascular and cranial-facial surgeries, conducts as many as 100 procedures every month. Almost 10 per cent of these are aesthetic procedures and remaining are reconstructive surgeries. These procedures are performed to rectify deformities of the head/neck among children and adults.

Plastic surgery has progressed considerably and is not merely confined to cosmetology, but includes all hand surgeries of a working man and rectification of soft tissue fracture of the lower limbs.

In an interview with Pharmabiz.com, Dr. Niranjan Kumar, chief of plastic surgery, Manipal Hospital, and organising secretary of APSICON 2002 (All India Plastic Surgeons Conference) said, "Plastic surgeons work along with orthopaedics and neuro surgeon as their main task is to reconstruct the skin. In a head and neck surgery or oncology operation, the plastic surgeons are present to simultaneously reconstruct the operated part. Similarly for burns the role of the plastic surgeon is a critical one."

The department of plastic surgery at the hospital is manned by two specialists- Dr. Niranjan Kumar and Dr. Y Anantheswar. They team up with Dr. Sujay Rao, consultant neuro surgeon, Manipal Hospital, who are incidentally the joint organising secretaries of APSICON 2002, to perform the reconstructive procedures on patients having tumours and other nerve disabilities.

In India, there are several centres for plastic surgery and the criticality of this area is well known. There are specialised plastic surgery departments in each hospital. Like for instance the Stanley Medical College, Chennai is known for reconstruction of skin for burns cases. Bangalore's St. Johns Medical College Hospital and Victoria Hospital are also identified for burns reconstruction. The centres and surgeons conducting plastic surgery can be comparable with those in the US and UK. "The main draw back in India is lack of a research and development wing for the cases. Right now, Manipal Hospital is moving in that direction," pointed out, Dr. Niranjan Kumar.

There have been ample advancements in plastic surgeries. Some of the recent developments are laser therapy, which removes the vascular blemishes on the face apart from resurfacing the skin on the face to remove wrinkles. Another progress in the field is endoscopy methods introduced for surgery like implants in cancer or brain surgeries and in Carpal Tunnel Hand syndrome where the palm is affected.

Plastic surgeons need skilled pair hands, informed Dr. Niranjan Kumar. On the cost incurred in such surgeries, he said while laser surgery is expensive, the reconstructive surgery is not. The most expensive are aesthetic surgeries for cranial-facial and use of implants.

According to Dr. Niranjan Kumar, teamwork is vital for plastic surgery where co-ordination with the orthopaedic surgeon or neuro surgeon and the anaesthetist play a vital role. Another area of critical importance is postoperative nursing. The nurses from Manipal Hospital are trained on the job.