The Four Important Roles Of A Pediatric Plastic Surgeon In Your Newborn's Life

A pediatric plastic surgeon does more than repair the appearance of young children. In fact, a pediatric plastic surgeon can play a big role in your newborn's life, especially if your newborn may possibly need plastic surgery for health reasons when they are born. Here are the four important roles a pediatric plastic surgeon plays:

1. Checks Developmental Issues Before Baby Is Born: If there are any concerns about the development of your baby while still in the womb, a pediatric plastic surgeon will check it out. They will determine whether or not there is a specific birth defect that will need treatment upon your baby being born. If this is the case, the pediatric plastic surgeon will let you know of the risks and reasons that plastic surgery can actually benefit your newborn's health. Many times, a pediatric plastic surgeon performs surgery on newborns because their defect can be seriously harmful to their health upon birth. 
2. Knows What Is Life Threatening:  When your newborn makes their way into the world, you, of course, want to be able to let them sleep, get used to you, and bring them home. This is why avoiding plastic surgery is definitely something you want. If there was concern about your newborn having a defect that can be harmful to their health, the pediatric plastic surgeon will check on your child to determine whether or not it is truly something that is life threatening. They won't take your child into surgery unless it is absolutely necessary, which can be difficult to determine before baby is born. 
3. Performs Surgery for Tumors:  If your child develops a benign or cancerous tumor that needs to be removed, a pediatric plastic surgeon is going to play a huge role in surgery. This will ensure that once the tumor is removed, your child will see little changes in their appearance once the surgery is complete. It's the job of the pediatric plastic surgeon to ensure that the effects of the removal does not affect their appearance long-term. 
4. Repairs Traumatic Injuries: If at some point in your child's life, they face a traumatic injury, a pediatric plastic surgeon will go over the options with you to repair their outward appearance once the actual trauma is treated. This way, your child does not have to relive the traumatic event by continually having to see the heavy outward scars or other injuries. 

When you know the four important roles that a pediatric plastic surgeon can play in your child's life from the time they are born, you can see that they do more than just fix appearances. For more information, talk to a professional like Shriners Hospitals for Children – Cincinnati.