Plastic Surgery Center
Aesthetic surgery

While most aesthetic surgery or reconstructive procedures are essential to the overall health of a child, they also can enhance self-image. The Texas Children’s Plastic Surgery Center helps restore both form and function in infants, children and young adults.

“Children and adolescents are acutely aware of how they look,” said Dr. Samuel Stal. “If any facial or bodily deformity, no matter how small, separates them from their peers, children may experience self-consciousness and social anxiety — self-esteem problems that can severely affect their emotional and psychological development.”

Generally, a patient can undergo an aesthetic procedure on an outpatient basis and leave the hospital the same day.

Surgery of the chest and breast wall
With the onset of puberty, some preteens and teenagers, both male and female, experience abnormal or asymmetrical growth in the breast and chest walls. Usually due to hormonal fluctuations of adolescence or genetic predisposition, this condition can be corrected with reconstructive chest wall surgery and breast reduction. The Plastic Surgery Center has developed extensive expertise in these procedures, handling 50 or more cases each year.

Surgery of birthmarks
The center treats hundreds of children and adolescents with congenital and acquired birthmarks each year. Specialists are equipped to diagnose, treat and manage congenital and vascular birthmarks such as hemangiomas, malformations and pigmented birthmarks.

The center also offers several options for laser treatment of port-wine stains and other vascular birthmarks. Most children’s birthmarks are treated for aesthetic reasons, but cancer prevention is another important reason for treatment.

Learn more about the birthmark clinic.

Rhinoplasty and otoplasty
Parents of children and adolescents may seek surgical correction of their children’s facial features, usually due to their children’s functional or self-esteem problems. The center offers treatment options including rhinoplasty (nasal surgery) and otoplasty (ear surgery).

A child with chronic airway obstruction caused by trauma or allergies may be a candidate for rhinoplasty, the third most common surgical procedure performed at the center. Symptoms include nasal congestion and nosebleeds, mouth breathing, sleep disturbance, and reduction or loss of sense of smell.

By the age of 3 or 4, a child with prominent ears can be assessed to determine if the condition is a true deformity correctable by otoplasty. This 90-minute outpatient procedure is the fourth most common procedure performed at the center.

Learn more about one child's otoplasty surgery.

Counseling and video imaging
Should parents seek assurance that aesthetic plastic surgery is the best choice for correcting their young child’s condition, the center provides counseling support to help make the decision.

Additionally, a comprehensive consultation is available for parents who wonder whether their child is ready for aesthetic surgery and how he or she will look after surgery. To help make the decision and envision the potential change, video imaging allows children and parents to clarify concerns about appearance.

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