Talk:Plastic surgery

1) I had re-written some of this Wikipedia article months ago, as now imported there remain many errors, and some of my lines have been modified into errors. I will try to correct it and fill it out. Although I am not a plastic surgeon, I am otherwise intimately acquainted with the field, having served as a consultive pediatric otolaryngologist for internationally known departments of plastic and reconstructive surgery and being both widely read and personally tutored by authors of major textbooks and medical articles in the peer reviewed literature in PLastic Surgery. In Surgery, unlike many other fields, actual operating room experience and discussion with surgeons who are authorative in the field is traditionally important, and although scholarship is very important, an understanding of surgery derived strictly from reading is generally misleading. My own contributions to that literature have been pretty much confined to airway management. I discuss my qualifications, because I would appreciate that subsequent authors and editors do not arbitrarily modify the text unless sure that they have a more fundamental experience and understanding of the field, but instead discuss criticisms first here on the talk page. When I say "modify the text", I certainly do not mean that editing of language is not welcomed, I mean that if there is a basic disagreement with the style or definitions that the history pages show I have written, that these be discussed here first. Nancy Sculerati MD 07:47, 26 February 2007 (CST)

2) I am learning how to write on a wiki, and I have some kind of block to doing references properly. In my defense, I want to declare that I am not lazy and I actually do try to contribute my share :-) !!!. However, I am coming to realize that this reference issue has got to be overcome. On the other hand, right now dealing with it stops me from authoring and I have another task -the associates program-that I have to complete for CZ. So, could I ask you kindly-those who can- to fix the references here as you go through the article? Thank you, Nancy Nancy Sculerati MD 07:59, 26 February 2007 (CST)

Style of the article

Since Citizendium is aimed towards everyone, I'd like to make a plea that the language of this article is plainly understandable and that jargon or very academic terms are used only if first explained in simple language. The article should be accurate enough that the head of a department of plastic surgery at one of the world's great medical centers would find it "ok", but plain enough so that the regular readers of People Magazine can follow it. ;-) (that's a wink and a smile-took me long enough to know!). I'd say we have a real success if both find it interesting. Nancy Sculerati MD 08:05, 26 February 2007 (CST)

Reconstructive and Cosmetic

"Reconstructive surgery may include closing defects using skin grafts or with local, regional or distant flaps—that is, by moving tissue from other parts of the body." I am removing this line- it is true, but there are procedures in cosmetic surgery that can also invove this- notable in abdominoplasty. I'm banking the line here in discussion until I can figure out a way to use it.

==Qualification of the Plastic Surgeon==

The article, as first imported from Wikipedia, hints at a subject that needs inclusion, but does not cover it accurately. That's "Who's a plastic surgeon?". A section on this very controversial topic must include the recognized routes of training and certification for plastic surgery in the world. Nancy Sculerati MD 08:47, 26 February 2007 (CST)