Sorta Random Sunday: What Does A Plastic Surgeon Actually Do?

Here at The Prudent Plastic Surgeon, most of my posts are about the financial side of being a physician. But, being a physician, we get to do a lot of cool stuff to help people as well.

So, this Sorta Random Sunday post is going to be about what I and plastic surgeons actually do on and day in and day out basis!

What does a plastic surgeon actually do?

I get asked this a lot.

Or at least I get asked this a lot after I tell people that cosmetic surgery is really only about ~10% of my practice currently. (This is me here)

Most people assume plastic surgery = cosmetic/aesthetic surgery. But really that is only one facet. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a facet I enjoy and get great fulfillment from.

But plastic surgery encompasses reconstructive surgery as well. As plastic surgeons we operate on every part of the body in fact. We operate on skin, muscle, bone, fascia, nerve, blood vessels, even lymph vessels less than 2 millimeters in size.

In broad terms, plastic surgery includes:

Aesthetic surgery
Reconstructive surgery
Microsurgery
Hand surgery
Craniofacial surgery

Each of these has a ton of subspecialties as well. For instance, I am a microsurgeon. Within microsurgery, I perform breast, head & neck, trunk, extremity and lymphedema reconstruction.

So, we do a lot of cool stuff as plastic surgeons. That’s why I went into the field!

Here is a list of the last 7 surgeries that I have performed:

DIEP flap for breast reconstruction
Breast lift and fat grafting after DIEP flap for breast reconstruction
Skin grafting a large back wound
Lymphovenous bypass to treat lymphedema
A free latissimus flap for scalp reconstruction
Gender affirming top surgery
Gender affirming vaginoplasty

And how about the next 7 surgeries that I have scheduled?

ALT flap for head & neck reconstruction
Open reduction and internal fixation for a mandible fracture
Fat grafting to the breast
4 more DIEP flaps for breast reconstruction (I do a lot of these!)

What is my favorite part about what we do as plastic surgeons?

Pretty much everything.

Here are some of the best parts:

We get to work all over the body
Plastic surgeons get to be creative. Often times we are fixing unique problems using our toolbox, not a set recipe or instruction manual
We get to see the impact of what we do immediately as we reconstruct or repair something taken by time, trauma, cancer, or congenitally
We help people feel “normal” after big cancer surgery
Plastic surgeons are some of the most passionate, smart, and fun people I have ever met

I am very lucky to love what I do! As I’ve mentioned before, my goal in chasing financial freedom is not to retire immediately. But I do want to reach financial independence so I can work because I want to, not because I have to!

What do you love about what you do? Is there a misconception in the general public or even medicine about what you do?

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