Plastic Surgery
For Health Professionals
Our Plastic Surgery team provides evaluation and treatment for infants, children and teens whose growing bodies need repair or reconstruction for a wide variety of reasons. Some may be present when your child is born. Others, such as scars, may come later. Seattle Children's plastic surgeons work closely with medical professionals in the Craniofacial Center and Vascular Anomalies program. We use a team approach to treat your child when these conditions affect how they look and how their body works. Our surgeons are among the most experienced in the nation, particularly in treating disorders that involve your child's face, neck and skin.
Meet the Plastic Surgery care team.
Conditions we treat
We see children with many conditions, including:
- Maxillofacial trauma
Maxillofacial trauma, sometimes called facial trauma, is any injury to the jaw or face, including the cheekbones, nose and the bones around the eyes. Doctors in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery treat these injuries, while doctors in the Plastic Surgery Clinic treat scars and other problems that occur as a result of previous injuries. Children who need emergency care - for example, right after injuries during sports, falls or auto accidents - should go to the Emergency Department.
- Facial reconstruction
Our surgeons are skilled at treating problems that involve your child's face. These may affect the look of the face, the way the face works or both. For example, we see children whose noses look abnormal or have problems with the structure inside, children whose jaws do not line up correctly, and children whose ears stick out or are very large.
- Skin and soft tissue tumors
Tumors are abnormal growths of tissue. Although they can be a sign of cancer (malignant tumors), most are not a sign of cancer (benign tumors). There are many types of skin and soft tissue tumors. Some tumors need surgery to remove them if they cause problems with how your child's body works or with how your child looks. For example, some birthmarks, moles or cysts may need to be removed.
- Microsurgical facial reanimation
A child with facial paralysis may have an inability to move one part, or in some cases, the entire face. This can result in distortion of facial expressions, proper mouth closure, pronunciation of words, symmetrical smiling, or closing of the eyelids. Our surgeons have expanded the services offered by the Division of Plastic Surgery to include microsurgical facial reanimation surgeries for patients with facial paralysis and soft tissue augmentation.