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surgical techniques and our skills with Assessing the current
tissue handling acquired through rigorous scenario
training. If anything at all, it is only these
qualities that sets us apart from colleagues Everyone will admit that the more skillful and
in other specialties. However it is both more technically demanding procedures in
our strength as well as our weakness. Plastic surgery are still performed by us more
or less exclusively. You will find very few takers
We have ourselves poached on other from outside our field for Craniofacial surgery
specialties knowingly or unknowingly. Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery, both fields
surgery is traditionally a part of Orthopaedic requiring rigorous training and high technical
surgery; Hypospadias historically a part of skill for success. It is well established that these
Urology and possibly Paediatric surgery; are not for the casual occasional surgeon, in
Botox, Fillers, Peels, Laser skin rejuvenation fact dabbling in them without the necessary
historically belong to Dermatology; wherewithal is a sure-fire recipe for surgical
Vaginal rejuvenation is a Gynaecological disaster, morbidity and even mortality. Only
procedure; Burns management was for the most dedicated and keenly interested non-
many decades the bastion of General Plastic surgeon will venture here and for the
surgeons. However, by the sheer dint of time-being these appear safe to a large extent.
our skill, training and innovation, we have
taken procedures that traditionally may In other fields like Cleft lip / palate surgery or
not have been ours to a different level in Hand surgery / Brachial Plexus / Peripheral
of finesse. THAT is definitely our own Nerve surgery (PNS), the consensus has
achievement, no one else can lay claim to it. always been that this requires a multispecialty
approach and requires value addition from all.
We have justifiably prided ourselves So in Cleft management we have been quite
on performing the procedures under content to allow other colleagues such as Oral
our umbrella much better than surgeons, Orthodontists, Speech therapists
others. Therein lies our main strength be members of an inclusive National
and therein must lie our argument. Association. In Hand surgery, Brachial plexus
surgery and PNS, we have had Orthopaedic
and Neurosurgery colleagues work in
consonance with us without much friction.
It is the other areas of our field (particularly
aesthetic surgery), where it is perceived
by others that the procedures are easier,
technically less demanding, financially
lucrative and needing only average skills
that have been sought to be usurped in the
past, are being poached in the present and
will be looked at avariciously in the future.
As mentioned before, many procedures with
overlap across specialities are being performed
by others and we cannot continue to be sullen
about them being also done by colleagues.
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