Of all the surgical specialities, plastic surgeons are well known for drawing on their patients before surgery. While some may equate that with being an ‘artist’, the reality is that such drawings can be incredibly useful for guiding certain aspects of how some procedures are done. Since patients are often asleep during surgery and are almost always in a near or completely horizontal position, the facial or body structures may be altered from what they naturally are in a more vertical natural position. Thus knowing where things are or how much tissue to remove should not be left to ‘winging it’ in a patient who is laying in an unnatural position where tissues have shifted. Most plastic surgeons will take the time before surgery to make a variety of presurgical markings using devices such as calipers, rulers, tape measures and various colors of marking pens. While careful presurgical markings does not always ensure a good outcome, a lack of a definitive roadmap for the surgery may contribute to a poor outcome. As the old motto goes…
‘You Can Not Hit A Target You Do Not Have’
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana