Surgical Specialties

The UCLA Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery provides consultations and reconstructive options for acquired and congenital deformities of the face, the head and neck, the torso, the breast and abdomen, the upper extremity and the lower extremity.  Our goal is to restore both form and function, giving our patients an aesthetic result that erases the scars left by illness, trauma, and aging.

At UCLA, plastic surgery is divided into six subspecialties:

• Aesthetic Surgery (Cosmetic Surgery): focuses on elective cosmetic surgery, with an emphasis on the face and breast. Common procedures include facelift, brow lift, blepharoplasty, breast augmentation, breast lift, and breast reduction.
• Breast Reconstruction: focuses on post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. Traditional reconstruction utilizes tissue expanders and breast implants (either silicone or saline) to recreate the appearance of the absent breast. Microvascular free-flap reconstruction uses tissue harvested from the abdomen or other locations in order to recreate the absent breast.
• Craniofacial Surgery: focuses on the surgical correction of severe facial deformities, skull abnormalities, facial clefts, and absence of the ear or nose. UCLA has pioneered a team-approach to the management of craniofacial cases, bringing in specialists from pediatrics, genetics, orthodontics, dentistry, speech pathology, neurosurgery, otolaryngology, oral surgery, otology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, and social work in order to map out a unique, multi-stage treatment plan for each patient.
• General Reconstruction: focuses on wound healing, scar revision, and the surgical correction of post-traumatic or post-surgical deformities appearing anywhere on the body.
• Hand Surgery: focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of hand injuries and pathological disorders affecting the hand. The Hand Service is a joint collaboration between the UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.
• Scar Treatment: focuses in symptomatic and asymptomatic scars from any cause as well as care for burn injuries. This out-patient program offers personalized care using the latest technologies, including surgery, steroid treatment and laser surgery.