Plastic reconstruction of soft or hard facial tissue after injury in HELIOS University Hospital Wuppertal

About the department

The Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Adult and Pediatric Hand Surgery, Reconstructive Burn Surgery at the HELIOS University Hospital Wuppertal provides the full range of modern medical services in the areas of its specialization. The department performs many surgical interventions to improve the appearance, both with and without clinical indications – at the patient's own request. In addition to plastic surgery, the department offers effective non-interventional anti-aging procedures, including Botox, filler injections and others. An integral part of the clinical activity of the medical facility is the conservative and surgical treatment of various hand diseases, including hand malformations in children. The department's doctors specializing in reconstructive burn surgery deal with the treatment of adults and young patients with burn injuries. Surgeons perform high-quality plastic surgery to eliminate skin defects after burns. The department's operating rooms have advanced medical equipment, which, in combination with the exceptional professionalism of surgeons, allows doing miracles. The specialists make every effort to provide their patients with the desired result and to make them enjoy a full life without experiencing complexes due to their appearance. The department is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Ahmet Bozkurt.

The department's esthetic surgeons admit patients who want to change their appearance without objective clinical indications, but due to subjective dissatisfaction with any part of the face or body. Aesthetic facial surgery is most often performed to eliminate age-related changes. These are face and neck lift, blepharoplasty, injections of Botox, fillers and the patient's autologous adipose tissue for the treatment of wrinkles. Many women use the services of the department's aesthetic surgeons to augment their breasts in order to feel more feminine and attractive. The specialists of this medical profile also often perform tummy tuck, arm and thigh lift, buttock lift, as well as liposuction for weight loss, body contouring, etc. The department's aesthetic surgeons specialize in intimate plastic surgery – surgical procedures to reduce and adjust the asymmetry of the labia minora. Prior to any aesthetic intervention, the surgeon holds an individual consultation, during which he informs the patient about the options for the operation, its benefits and health risks. After that, the doctor and the patient cooperatively choose the optimal type of intervention, and the patient undergoes a preoperative examination to assess the state of health and identify possible contraindications.

The department's reconstructive plastic surgeons eliminate defects in the face and/or body after accidents, perform tumor resection surgery, bedsore surgery, as well as interventions for the defects after extensive open surgical interventions, functional and structural damage to the nerve endings, the consequences of burn injuries and other pathologies. The department's reconstructive surgeons use advanced techniques in their work that allow them to perform surgery with minimal trauma to healthy tissues, but at the same time provide the patient with a high-quality and most natural result by restoring the normal shape of the face or body. One of the most important focuses of the work of the department's reconstructive surgeons is the restoration of the breast shape in women after breast resection due to cancer, including those with a high risk of developing oncology in a family history. The specialists use two of the most effective and modern methods of breast reconstruction: silicone implants or autologous tissue. When installing silicone implants, two interventions may be required – the first one involves the implantation of special expanders into the mammary glands to stretch the skin, and the second procedure is performed for placing permanent silicone implants.

The department's therapeutic offer also includes reconstructive burn surgery. As a rule, patients are admitted to the department with deep second- and third-degree burns, in which skin plastic surgery is required. The department provides treatment to both adult patients and children – pediatricians are also involved in the therapeutic process. First of all, the patient receives high-quality anesthesia. Doctors also pay attention to the normalization of blood circulation in the affected area and measures to prevent wound infection. All these things are followed by skin grafting, if clinically indicated. During the treatment, special attention is paid to the final aesthetic result.

The department also offers the full range of hand surgery. The spectrum includes conservative medical care, elective and emergency hand interventions, including replantation surgery. In most cases, the department's specialists perform surgical treatment using sparing minimally invasive (arthroscopic) techniques. As a rule, hand and wrist interventions are performed on an outpatient basis, and hospitalization may be required only in complex clinical cases. Whenever possible, doctors use local anesthesia, thereby eliminating high risks to the patient's health. The department's specialists have progressive surgical microscopes that allow restoring blood vessels and nerve endings in the hand. Doctors also have vast experience in treating hand conditions and injuries in children, including malformations.

The department's key clinical focuses include:

• Aesthetic plastic surgery
  • Aesthetic plastic surgery of the face, neck and head
    • Face lift
    • Neck lift
    • Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty)
    • Ear reshaping (otoplasty)
  • Aesthetic plastic surgery of the body
    • Breast plastic surgery: breast augmentation, reduction and lift, treatment of gynecomastia in men
    • Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty)
    • Arm and thigh lift
    • Buttock lift
    • Bodylifting after significant weight loss, including after bariatric  surgery
    • Complex of plastic interventions to restore the body after childbirth
    • Liposuction
    • Hyperhidrosis surgery
  • Intimate plastic surgery
    • Pubic lift 
    • Labia minora reduction
    • Asymmetrical labia minora correction
  • Non-surgical aesthetic procedures
    • Treatment of wrinkles with botox and filler injections
    • Treatment of hyperhidrosis with botox injections
    • DermoJet treatment for scar revision
• Reconstructive plastic surgery
  • Reconstructive surgery after injuries (for example, road traffic incidents, accidents at work)
  • Reconstructive surgery after tumor resection (for example, skin tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, bone tumors)
  • Reconstructive surgery for bedsores
  • Reconstructive surgery after previous surgical interventions (for example, in sternal osteomyelitis after coronary artery bypass grafting)
  • Reconstructive surgery for severe skin infections
  • Reconstructive surgery for facial paralysis and other peripheral nerve lesions
• Reconstructive burn surgery
  • Treatment of deep second- and third-degree burns in adults and children, as well as skin grafting
• Hand surgery
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of hand injuries in adults and children, including finger fractures, tendon and ligament tears
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of inflammatory hand diseases
  • Conservative and surgical treatment of rheumatic lesions of the hand joints
  • Ganglion surgery
  • Surgery for trigger fingers
  • Dupuytren's contracture surgery
  • Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome and other peripheral nerve compression syndromes
  • Surgery for wrist and finger joint arthrosis
  • Surgery for congenital and acquired hand deformities in children
  • Finger joint arthroplasty
• Other surgical options