Plastic surgery, including cleft lip and palate

Abstract Plastic surgery techniques come from a discipline that has developed to facilitate the restoration of form and function to tissues which may be disordered from congenital malformation, or be the consequences of trauma or tumour formation, or have elements which can give improved quality of life if materially altered. In this short chapter, the scope of reconstructive techniques used in paediatric practice will be described, such as grafting and use of flaps, along with some aspects of advances in methods that are currently in development. Cleft lip and palate, as the most common craniofacial anomalies to affect all races, are discussed in greater depth.