The scope of use of local anesthetics in procedures in plastic surgery is covered in this issue of Clinics in Plastic Surgery. Discussion centers on plastic surgeons in private practice in ambulatory facilities and those scheduling time for OR in hospital facilities using local anesthetics while accommodating patient comfort and absence of side-effects post general anesthesia. Presented in this publication are the most common plastic surgeries that can be done under local anesthesia, each with a discussion of the optimal anesthetic, method of administration, and dosage. Video of the procedure or portion of the procedure, as applicable, accompanies the techniques along with a surgical case. The goal of this issue is to provide a concise reference for surgeons’ planning surgeries to review and perhaps adapt currently used methods with this latest information on local anesthetics. Surgical Technique is provided in detail with full analysis of Patient Selection and Planning, Complications and Post-procedure Care. Contents include Complications; Basic Science of Locals; Skin Grafts and Flaps; Peripheral Nerve; Foot Surgery; Breast Surgery; Liposuction; Hand Trauma; Oculoplastic Surgery; Ear Surgery; Hair Transplantation; among others.

This new definitive resource addresses the fundamental principles of anaesthesia, underpinning sciences and the full spectrum of clinical anaesthetic practice. An international team of experts provide trustworthy, effective, and evidence-based guidance enabling clinicians to provide the very best clinical care to patients.

Plastic and reconstructive surgery has evolved over the last two decades, with advances in anesthesiology, pharmacology, perioperative medicine, and novel monitoring devices contributing significantly to these patients being able to recover and live safely. Patients with chronic pathologies such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congenital or trauma injuries, changes due to excessive weight loss and others, as well as patient-tourists who have traveled enormous distances are now able to receive cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries that in the past were rejected. The authors of this book also discuss various contemporary topics of anesthesia for plastic and reconstructive surgery that are especially interesting and controversial due to the latest developments on this subject.

One major by-product of the aging baby-boom generation has been a surging interest in cosmetic surgery. Out-patient cosmetic surgery clinics have sprouted up in droves all over the U.S., and the number of cosmetic procedures performed in 2005 increased by over 95% from the previous year. Although procedures like facelifts and abdominoplasties (the 'tummy-tuck') are considered minimally invasive, the anesthetic protocols and regimens here are often overly complex and unnecessarily toxic. Major complications involving anesthesia in this (and any other) surgical milieu can range from severe post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) to neuromuscular spasticity to mortality. The mortality spectrum of things may be rare, but there have been many cases in which perfectly healthy cosmetic surgery patients require emergency intervention due to a severe complication involving anesthesia. In recent years, many new anesthetic protocols have been developed to reduce the incidence of PONV and other complications, while ensuring that effective pain management and level of 'un-awareness' during surgery is always maintained.

In 1958;a severely burned steel worker, the extent of whose bums was 890/0 of the body surface, with 20070 of third degree bums, was saved by the Kwangts'e hospital (now the Rui Jin hospital) of Shanghai Second Medical College. It was the first report in the world of such a critically injured patient recovering, and seemed like a miracle at that time. During the 24 following years, a great number of papers reporting the development and advances in bum therapy in clinics and in research showed that Chinese medical investigations in the field of bums have ranked among the most advanced in the world. Plastic surgery, as an independent branch of general surgery, has been established gradually since Liberation. Recently, new techniques, including microsurgical techniques, in plastic surgery have emerged and developed, permitting rapid progress in clinical work and attracting attention and appreciation in other parts of the world. The first national congress of Burns and Plastic Surgery was held from May 16-24 1982 in Shanghai. Over 800 papers were presented and showed how advances have been made in recent years in these two specialities. Here we present selected articles as a symposium. It is hoped that this symposium will be of value to its readers. About the Editors Chang Ti-sheng (Zhang Di-sheng), who was born 12 June 1916, is Professor of Surgery, Shanghai Second Medical College, Shanghai, Chief of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and Director of Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai.

This method of local anaethesia, developed by a dermatologist and a pharmacologist, is presented to demonstrate its use in cosmetic liposuction and other procedures. Richly illustrated to show details of the technique and with serialphotographs of many clinical cases, the book explains the advantages of this new technique and provides practical instruction in how to perform it.

This concise, accessible and authoritative volume discusses the important techniques in this complex area of surgery. It deals with common clinical situations and gives practical hints on how to solve them. The highly experienced contributors give their views on dealing with many problems such as acute burns, post-burn reconstruction and anaesthesia for cleft-lip and palate surgery.