Skills of the surgeon, eye of an artist, mind of the analyst.
Plastic and reconstructive surgery challenges the surgeon in ways often difficult to comprehend. Not only does the surgeon have to perfect the appropriate techniques for the surgical intervention, but he/she also assesses the patient with the eye of the artist and the mind of a psychoanalyst. Working with children and adolescents and their parents requires even more complex skills because it is required to assume the position of the parent to interpret their wishes, hopes, and fears. Over decades, John Mulliken has been the exemplar of the surgeon able to take on these manifold challenges. Dr Mulliken's special focus on healing the cleft lip and palate has offered to generations of young people and their families a life freer of the complex and sometimes devastating consequences of living with a deformity. Moving for ever earlier intervention, Dr Mulliken broke new ground surgically but from a psychological perspective offered the chance to avoid a host of psychological problems. Dr Mulliken's surgical intervention for nevi and other vascular malformations has had a long-lasting psychological impact on the lives of children. This article traces the place of plastic and surgical reconstructive surgery as a field intertwined with the psychological development of the individual and describes the ways in which Dr Mulliken's approaches have enhanced the well-being of so many.
Belfer
Myron L
ML
Children's Hospital Boston, USA. Myron_Belfer@hms.harvard.edu
Harrison
Alexandra M
AM
Pillemer
Francine G
FG
D000293:Adolescent; D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000523:psychology*