Craniofacial Surgery
It is the subspeciality of Plastic Surgery, dealing with defects of skull, face and jaws. These defects may have been present since birth, or may be acquired, as in the case of facial fractures. It includes the deformities that occur as a result of premature fusion of cranial sutures lines (craniosynostosis), Crouzon Syndrome, Apert Syndrome, Treacher Collins Syndrome, Craniofacial Clefts (Atypical Clefts as well as Cleft Lip and Palate), Craniofacial Microsomia etc. Craniofacial Surgeries require close cooperation between the specialities of Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Maxillofacial Surgery, Pediatrics, Anaesthesiology and related specialities, in a team approach to provide optimum result in these patients. Plastic Surgeons are uniquely adapted for this subspeciality because of their expertise in dealing with soft tissue and bony defects and their extraordinary ability to bring in tissue from elsewhere when required, in the form of conventional flap or microvascular free tissue transfer.