Page 35 - PlasticosVol4

V O L 4 2019 I S S U E

The last The orthopod, brought in to share the to plastic surgery…Aesthetic surgery.

institutions
government
Teaching
bone work for their rightful expertise,
pushed us aside and took over the refrained from
Emperor nerves, tendons and even brachial plexus.
The plastic surgeons who mastered
or the lost Empire? vaginoplasty started being looked upon
as poachers in “cosmetic gynaecology”.
Having a named domain made it a
cakewalk for them to project their image
Dr. Medha Bhave to the masses.

Not as plain and simple as
surgeons. The story obviously has two it appears
sides, like all good tales...and bad too!

Where did we fall short? The situation was fuelled by lack of
uniformity in training and exposure of
budding plastic surgeons to all aspects
Being super-specialists, we were simply of plastic surgery. The idea of rotating
not enough in numbers. The supply was not candidates in various institutes, within indulging in it, since it was perceived as
sufficient in the past, thus creating a real the city, focussing on different sub- ‘luxury’. Thus, the previous generation of
gap vis-à-vis the demand. A department specialities must have been pondered aesthetic plastic surgeons had to look for
started lately (too late?) in an Institute of yet perhaps dismissed due to difficult avenues in training abroad. They did it
national excellence bears testimony to logistics. and trained the next generation through
the poor awareness percolated through workshops. The workshops were again
society. Plastic surgery, at best, created Plastic surgeons dispersed over the inclusive of broad specialities for the
a hazy perception of being something vast expanse of Indian subcontinent sake of numbers and common interests.
to do with dissolving stitches, changing and started work in all sub-disciplines. The so-called lucrative practice with,
faces, use of plastic etc. Nevertheless, it Their assistants necessarily had to be supposedly, no “dreary and cumbersome
was considered an important discipline
Every one of us deeply perceives an improving function and deformity. broad specialists- given our miniscule work” was easily taken over by these
identity crisis that is gnawing at the souls Inevitably, by this time, many started numbers. Meanwhile, workshops were broad specialists as they either already
of plastic surgeons of all generations. jumping onto our band wagon. Little did being conducted for plastic surgeons as had a beeline of general patients or
Don’t we? If you don’t; you are either lucky we realise that the dentists we invited to well as for the relevant broad specialists. had colleagues from same speciality
or possess saintly sanguinity. manage the teeth and occlusion of cleft It was not long before the interested to get references from. For example,
student/ guests claimed parts of our
patients showed us the door and grabbed rhinoplasty or ear reconstruction would
A speciality held in highest esteem by the lips and palates and then even the domain; dismissing the quintessential be easy catch for an ENT surgeon, while
colleagues, once upon a time, for saving noses where they had no domain. The plastic surgeon as “general”. for a newbie plastic surgeon, getting the
their difficult patients with caring yet same happened to the hand surgery. first reference itself could be a frustrating
skilled hands, is now being overwhelmed Rise of aesthetic surgery wait which may never end.
by the ‘me too’ non plastic-surgeons.
Patients often end up paying a higher There can hardly be a bigger paradox
price, not only in terms of money but of than the fact that cradles of learning for
time and suffering, before having to be plastic surgeons never taught students
reluctantly referred to bona-fide plastic the one area that indisputably belongs Quackery’s first victims

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