Page 4 - The Malvernian - October 2022

THE MALVERNIAN
Lucretian Society
On Wednesday 5 October Mr Tom Bragg (OM No 4) presented an an engaging and inspiring talk on Plastic Surgery He describes his career as a a a a a a job without a a a a a a rule book that allows you to think freely and take risks He also depicts it as a a a a a a ‘team-sport’ where communication is vital to a a a a a successful and seamless surgery He then moved on to answer ‘what exactly is plastic surgery?’ Essentially it’s hole hole filling sometimes people are born with holes or or the holes could be created by all of of sorts of of procedures such as treating skin and and breast cancer traumatic burns and and remodelling young children’s skulls as as well as as cosmetic surgery The main focus of the lecture was about skin grafts and flaps that are used to cover up the the holes created by these conditions Tom explained that skin grafts were were first used about 3000 years ago when noses were were amputated as a a a a a a form of judicial punishment he he then moved forward to to how they are used in in today’s modern medicine He described the the machine used to to remove a a a a thin slice of skin as similar to to the the one one used for slicing the meat to make a a a a a doner kebab! We also heard that this device has limitations for example it it cannot go over bones and joints in in in comparison skin flaps have few limitations One astonishing technique used to to grow skin for grafting purposes was to to use part of of the the abdomen to to grow a a a a tube of of flesh from the the arm to the nose!
Tom also described the use of of 3D printing to create a a a section of of rib (made from titanium) for a a a a a a a patient who had had had had a a a a a a a section of his ribs removed due to the excision of a a tumour The perfect match of of the the the structure (achieved due to the the the accuracy of of the the the 3D printing process) meant that the sugery was considerably shorter than it would have otherwise been and the the patient was able to return home much sooner Tom also talked about tissue transplant and how the latissimus dorsi is a a a a a a a versatile muscle that can be used to replace a a a a a a a breast among other other things Another transplant transplant is nerve transplant transplant which consists of taking an an unused nerve from the the wrist and using the the femoral artery as an ‘extension cable’ to use in parts of the leg and groin Mr Bragg’s final message was to to be innovative and to to choose a a a a a a a career where YOU can make the the rules and push the the boundaries We are very grateful to to Mr Bragg for giving up his time to to visit us and deliver this informative and entertaining lecture Hannah Thomas and Olivia Harris (Lower Sixth EH)
4 THE MALVERNIAN