Reconstructive surgery – benefitting those who suffer needlessly

ALTHOUGH the public and media tend to equate ‘plastic surgery’ with cosmetic procedures, the vast majority of plastic surgery, carried out in the UK, is what would be termed as reconstructive surgery.

Whilst cosmetic surgery sates the vanity by reshaping normal bodily structure, reconstructive surgery benefits those who suffer from ‘abnormal’ structures of the body.  These abnormalities can be a result of congenital or development defects or trauma, infection, tumours or disease. 

Given the obvious biological dilemma of an ageing population, reconstructive intervention has grown considerably and increasing numbers of people will become candidates for ‘support, function and preservation’ by medical science and bioengineering.

Professor Alan Roberts OBE is a distinguished medical scientist and most notably invented Indermil Tissue Adhesive, a liquid designed to close minor or low tension skin wounds without the need for staples or sutures.

Professor Roberts was a consultant clinical scientist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, the Chief Examiner for maxillo-facial technology at the City and Guilds London Institute and a consultant at Nuffield Hospital in Leeds.  He has received a number of awards including the Prince Philip Medal for Outstanding Achievements in Science and Technology for his advances in implantation materials in the human body and he is now a visiting professor within the University’s Institute of Skin Integrity and Infection Prevention.

The Institute, directed by Professor Karen Ousey, is regarded as being at the forefront of research and teaching in the management of acute and chronic non-healing wounds.  It prides itself on providing translational research – applying findings in basic science to fundamentally improve the quality of life for patients – in what it terms as a “bench to bedside” approach.

Professor Roberts is one of a number of eminent medical scientists and health practitioners that have linked with the work of the Institute.  His inaugural professorial lecture is entitled Restructuring Faces and Other Places; Material Science in Medicine.

• The lecture is free and open to all, though places must be reserved in advance online.  Enquiries to events@hud.ac.uk or telephone 01484 471568.