Reconstruct­ive Surgery

There are many reasons you may consider private reconstructive surgery. Maybe you were born with a skin or soft tissue defect. Or maybe something has caused tissue damage later in life, such as:

• Traumatic injury
• Breast cancer surgery
• Sarcoma surgery
• Burns
• Old scars

While the idea of having surgery may come with feelings of anxiety, our team is here to help you make the choices that are best for you.

Reconstructive surgery can be a long process, often involving more than one procedure to get the results you want. Our expert plastic surgeons guide you through each step and explain the best surgical options for your unique case. They combine the latest reconstructive techniques with compassion for each patient they meet, helping you get the best possible outcome. 

Soft tissue coverage and complex wound treatment

There are many factors that can affect soft tissue damage. Whether you have a large wound or extensive scarring involving more than your skin — such as your muscles, tendons and bones — our experts can help.

Our surgeons often use microsurgery in reconstruction procedures requiring better skin coverage for hard-to-treat wounds. With microsurgery, we can reconstruct areas where you may have lost muscle, tendon or bone, including breast reconstruction. This is done by moving skin from one place to another to cover your wound. The techniques we use include:

• Skin grafts, which remove a thin section of healthy skin from one part of your body and transfer it to cover your wound
• Local flaps, which involves transferring tissue that’s next to the wound to cover the damage — particularly useful for small areas such as skin cancer excisions
• Pedicled flap, which moves a section of healthy tissue with a connected blood supply through a skin tunnel to a nearby damaged area
• Free flap, which removes healthy tissue completely from a different part of your body and transplants it — including reconnecting the blood supply — to the damaged location of your body

Sarcoma reconstruction

During sarcoma surgery, the surgeon often has to remove not only the tumour, but also tissue surrounding the area (margin). This can result in scarring and damage. With reconstructive surgery, we can help improve the scarring and work to repair damage. Your consultant will guide you to the best option for reconstruction and answer any questions you may have along the way.

Post-bariatric rejuvenation

If you’ve lost a substantial amount of weight, you may find you have excess skin. This can sometimes happen with bariatric surgery or other weight loss methods. Through reconstructive surgery, we can address this and help you move forward.

There can be both psychological and medical concerns that surgery can relieve, including:

• Improving your appearance and helping you feel confident
• Providing a sense of completion to the weight loss journey you’ve been on
• Helping to prevent skin infections or other irritations that can come with having excess skin

Our plastic surgeons will work closely with you to make sure reconstructive surgery is a good fit. Typically, we recommend that you wait to have skin surgery until your weight has stabilised. Once you’ve had surgery, we’ll guide you through the next steps — including wearing supportive garments and doing physiotherapy to help with your recovery.

Flexible Payment Options for Reconstructive Surgery

We offer options when it comes to paying for private reconstructive surgery. You can choose to self-pay or use private medical insurance, and we also offer convenient, self-funding payment plans through our partner Chrysalis Finance.

Our team works to provide you with the most exact estimate possible. Have questions? Our experienced billing specialists are here to guide you through every step. You can call for a price estimate or more information on +44 20 3423 7500.

What’s Next?

The decision to have reconstructive surgery can be the start of a long but very worthwhile journey. At Cleveland Clinic London, we’ll guide you through it all. From helping you get the quick booking for your first evaluation to the surgery itself, we’re here for you. We want you to feel confident and comfortable, so we take the time to answer all your questions and listen to your needs. This is a journey, but it’s one you won’t have to take on your own — we’ll be by your side.