Looking back on how the plastic surgery industry has changed and evolved over the decades, it’s a spectacle to see how quickly things have moved forward. Much of what has driven this progression towards a superior practice is the advancement of medicine and technique. Rather than just a focus on efficiency, the concept of patient-centric care has been one of the biggest push forwards. What may follow is limited only to the imagination.
The best indicators to what lies in wait are things in development now. A technique developed by Dr. Nikola Milojevic of Britain, is a surgery free technique being developed today. Coarsely dubbed the “No Knife Nose Job”, rather than the surgical reshaping of the nose, a series of fillers are used to reshape the structure of the nose.[1] While Still it’s infant stages, it is a strong suggestion of less invasive techniques are that we may see become standard practice.
Computers are being utilized in new ways, says Dr. Rod J. Rohrich during a 2013 conference address. According to Dr. Rohrich, the ability to scan, analyze and even preview changes made to the face will provide an enormous insight into what the possibilities will be for patients and doctors alike.[2] This will not only provide a better preoperative view, but will also help reduce the need for subsequent surgeries.
In the same address, the use of biodegradable constructs is discussed. What a biodegradable construct will do is allow doctors to create support structures to help maintain the improved shape of the nose, while the patients own natural tissue slowly reforms. The structure material will slowly dissolve as the natural tissues take their place, ensuring that the shaping will remain constant. With the use of dissolvable shape supports, patients will be ensured consistent, desired results, without the recovery hassles.
It would seem that the strongest predicted trend is towards less invasive surgeries, and faster recovery times as the end goal. While some of these techniques may seem to be a ways away, the really of their fruition may be closer than you think. Wild speculation might even suggest that the implantation of microscopic Nano technology may one day make the need of the knife all but obsolete; instead, using micro implants to stimulate change within the body. With the breakthroughs in microscopic technology occurring on a seemingly daily basis, perhaps the future of plastic surgery won’t even require surgery at all. The day may very well come when the entire procedure in performed by machines from within the body. Sound crazy? Put it in perspective. Twenty years ago, would you have thought it possible that you could possess a device that holds more information than the entire library of congress, and yet is so small it fits in your pocket? You may just be surprised what will happen in just a few years.
[1] http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/blog/no-knife-nose-job
[2] http://www.prweb.com/releases/plastic-surgery/rhinoplasty/prweb10852577.htm