Facial Reconstruction

Before your reconstructive plastic surgery, you should organize your schedule and plan for someone to help you afterwards so that your recovery is as stress-free as possible.

Arrange help, prepare appropriate meals, fill out prescriptions, get time off work – you will need rest. Most patients find that having help lined up in advance makes recovery easier. The more you facilitate with good preparation, the smoother the recovery will be.

It is also important to arrange transportation to and from the surgery and to have someone with you the night following the procedure.

As with any surgery, potential risks include allergic reactions to medical materials, risks associated with anesthesia, bleeding, infection, persistent pain, and changes in sensation, skin color, or swelling. Dr. Gale will review your personal risk factors in detail so you understand exactly what to expect before moving forward.

Recovery time depends entirely on the severity of your injury and the extent of the reconstruction required. Dr. Gale will give you a more specific recovery timeline once he has evaluated your injury and finalized your treatment plan. For many patients, regaining these abilities makes a significant difference in day-to-day quality of life.

Gauze or bandages are typically applied after surgery, and in some cases a small drainage tube may be placed under the skin to help manage fluid buildup during initial healing. Our team will show you how to care for your bandages, your surgical site, and any drains at home before you leave the office.

Look for a surgeon who is board-certified in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, with specific training and experience treating trauma cases similar to yours. Board certified status through a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties is one sign of a surgeon’s advanced training, so it’s worth asking about during your consultation. The American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery is one of the member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties, and it’s a fair question to ask about during your consultation. Dr. Gale’s background includes advanced training in complex facial trauma and airway reconstruction.

In many cases, yes. Depending on the extent and location of the injury, Dr. Gale may use microsurgical techniques to repair or reroute damaged nerves alongside the surrounding tissue and bone. Nerve-related injuries can include facial paralysis conditions such as Bell’s palsy, which also affect the facial nerve and how the face moves and expresses emotion. Because the facial nerve controls nearly all movement in the face, reconstructive techniques for facial paralysis aim to restore symmetry, movement, and function over time. This category of treatment, sometimes called facial reanimation, can involve nerve grafts, muscle transfers, or other microsurgical techniques depending on the cause and extent of the facial paralysis.

Reconstructive surgery is performed to restore normal appearance and function following injury, illness, or a congenital condition, while cosmetic surgery is typically elective and focused on enhancing appearance. Facial reconstruction procedures are often medically necessary rather than purely aesthetic. Congenital conditions that may call for reconstructive care include birth defects such as cleft lip or cleft palate, which affect the structure of the mouth and face from birth. Because congenital conditions can affect patients at any age, treatment plans for birth defects are tailored to each stage of a patient’s development.

Because facial reconstruction is usually performed to restore function and correct injury, many procedures may be covered by health insurance, though coverage varies by plan and the specifics of your injury. Our office can help you understand your benefits and next steps.

Timing depends on the type and severity of the injury. Some fractures and lacerations are best addressed within the first 1 to 2 weeks after trauma, while other reconstructive work may be planned once initial swelling has subsided, sometimes over several weeks of healing. Dr. Gale will recommend a timeline tailored to your specific injury.

Yes. When skin cancer is removed, including through Mohs surgery, the resulting cancer defects can leave behind excess skin, exposed bone, or gaps in healthy tissue that need to be rebuilt. Dr. Gale’s training in post-cancer reconstruction allows him to repair these areas so the face heals with a natural form and function. Because skin cancer can appear anywhere on the face, reconstruction techniques vary from patient to patient.

Depending on the size and location of the defect, our head and neck and microvascular surgeons may use skin grafts, local skin flap techniques, or free flap surgery. Both skin grafts and skin flap procedures require careful monitoring during the initial healing period to ensure the tissue takes hold, and skin grafts in particular depend on a healthy blood supply at the recipient site. A skin graft involves taking skin from a donor site on the body and placing it over the wound, while a local skin flap shifts nearby healthy tissue into place, often hidden within the skin’s natural folds. Free flap reconstruction, or microvascular free tissue transfer, moves transplanted tissue along with its own blood supply, reconnecting tiny blood vessels and thin layers of tissue under a microscope so the tissue survives in its new location. In select cases where reconstruction alone cannot fully replace what was lost, prosthetic devices may also be an option worth discussing with your care team. These tissue transfer techniques, drawn from advanced plastic surgery, are among the most technically demanding reconstructive procedures we perform, and they can make a meaningful difference in a patient’s quality of life.

Yes. Our team includes an oculoplastic surgeon and a facial plastic surgeon who focus on the upper or lower eyelids, eye sockets, and surrounding structures after trauma or cancer removal. In some cases, a brow lift or eyelid refinement may also be recommended alongside reconstructive work to support a more youthful appearance.