Endoscopic Techniques
Understanding Endoscopic Surgery
Dr. Zukowski is a practitioner and staunch proponent of endoscopic techniques for cosmetic facial surgery. Since he believes that the best patient is a well-informed one, he likes to educate all of his patients on this minimally invasive, revolutionary technique.
What is an Endoscope?
The technique is called “Endoscopic” due to the tool used: an endoscope. An endoscope is a lighted fiber optic camera system that magnifies the operative field 20x on a high definition screen. It helps a surgeon work in a more closed or distant space without having to make a bigger incision or cut through obstacles.
What is Endoscopic Surgery?
Endoscopic cosmetic surgery is a precise, highly skilled art that often loses out to open techniques due to how difficult it is for a plastic surgeon to master. It involves making several small incisions and using the endoscope to access and observe the operative area. This preserves the nerves, arteries, and veins that supply the front scalp hairs. The surgeon performing the technique has to be skilled enough to operate through a small incision while using one hand to direct the camera and create a space big enough to operate in, and the other hand to perform the procedure.
What is Open Surgery?
Open techniques are easier for the surgeon to perform, but harder on the patient. They involve making long incisions, cutting through nerves and muscles, and peeling back large amounts of skin to access the operative area. Open techniques are fraught with complications such as permanent hair loss, longer scars, cut sensory nerves, permanent scalp numbness, or permanent sinus damage.
Leading the Field of Endoscopic Facial Surgery
Dr. Zukowski is a world authority on endoscopic cosmetic soft tissue and bone surgical techniques. Once he learned how much safer they were, he decided that he couldn’t subject his patients to the inherent complications of open procedures. Every board certified plastic surgeon learns open techniques, but few decide to undergo the difficult work of learning endoscopic procedures. Dr. Zukowski began implementing them in 1993 after learning from Oscar Ramirez, M.D., his mentor and one of the three founders of endoscopic minimal scar soft tissue plastic surgery.
Dr. Zukowski cares deeply about his patients and his profession. He considers himself an artist, a sculptor, and a creator of beauty. His dedication to his patients and to improving the field of face and body feminization surgery has made the Zukowski Center an international center for gender excellence.
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