Published: November 26, 2006 11:18 pm      

Plastic surgeons target quality of life

Whether he’s rebuilding an accident victim’s nose, reattaching a miner’s severed finger or doing a breast implant, Dr. Joel Borkow knows he’s helping people.

“Plastic surgery enhances the quality of life,” Borkow said at Plastic Surgical Associates of Johnstown, 415 Napoleon Place.

Hollywood celebrities’ cosmetic procedures bring national attention to the specialty, but Borkow says elective aesthetic surgery is only part of the story in Johnstown.

“We are seeing what I feel is a good mix,” Borkow said. “If you wanted to do 100 percent cosmetic surgery, you wouldn’t come to Johnstown.”

Nationally, skin cancer tumor removal and reconstruction tops the list of all plastic surgery procedures, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports.

That holds true in the Cambria-Somerset region, Borkow said. Plastic surgeons here work closely with oncologists and primary care doctors in skin cancer treatment.

“It is not just taking off the cancer,” Borkow said. “We reconstruct the skin so the patient can look as normal as possible.”

Breast reconstruction after mastectomies helps to reduce the emotional trauma associated with breast cancer, Borkow said, and plastic surgeons’ reconstruction expertise can help people live better with less pain.

“Historically, the training of plastic surgeons has to do with reconstruction and taking care of soft-tissue defects,” Borkow said.

Now, the practice includes the soft tissues, muscles and tendons in the hand. New procedures can lubricate aging tendons, repair carpal tunnel syndrome damage and replace arthritic finger joints.

Plastic surgeons consult with Memorial Medical Center’s trauma team and Wound Care Center. For accident victims, Borkow and his colleagues help repair broken facial bones and stitch lacerations to minimize scarring and deformity. In the Wound Care Center, plastic surgeons often have success in repairing chronic bedsores and other lesions.

On the cosmetic side, local plastic surgeons keep up with the latest advances. Botox treatments, liposuction, laser hair removal and breast enhancement are among the services available at Plastic Surgical Associates of Johnstown.

Medical advances have improved the quality of life for the region’s aging population, so it’s natural patients want to look as good as they feel, Borkow said. “Physically, the person who is 60 years old today is like a 40-year-old in the last generation.”

Eyelid procedures and face-lifts remove the signs of aging from the face, he said.

But plastic surgery usually can’t repair damaged lives and relationships, Borkow warns.

“Many times, patients have unreasonable expectations. In cosmetics, you have to play the role – not only of plastic surgeon – but also psychologist or psychiatrist.”

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons lists two categories of good cosmetic surgery candidates: Those with good self-image who are bothered by a physical characteristic they’d like to change; and those with a physical flaw or defect that diminishes their self-esteem.

“If you are seeking surgery with the hope of influencing a change in someone other than yourself, you might end up disappointed,” the society’s Web site warns.

Those in crisis from situations such as divorce or the death of a spouse, those obsessed with a minor defect, those with mental illness and those with unrealistic expectations are not good candidates for plastic surgery, the society says.

If a woman comes in to get cosmetic surgery, but her husband does all the talking, it raises a red flag, Borkow said.

“There may be a fundamental problem in the relationship,” Borkow said. “They are trying to come from the nebulous to the concrete. If the results are not as expected, the relationship suffers because of the face-lift. The plastic surgery adds to the problem.”

Patient education and experienced consultation help eliminate ill-advised surgery.

“I’d rather have a patient disappointed because I haven’t done a procedure than be disappointed because it doesn’t live up to expectations,” Borkow said.

For the proper candidates, Borkow said, face-lifts, tummy tucks, breast procedures, trauma reconstruction and hand repairs have the same effects: They make the patient feel better.

“At the end of day, I could say I really helped someone.”