The word plastic in plastic surgery means ‘reshaping’ and comes from the Greek word plastikē, “the art of modelling” of malleable flesh. This meaning in English is seen as early as 1598. The surgical definition of “plastic” first appeared in 1839, but reconstructive surgeries has been performed as early as 800BC in India.
The specialty came into its own in the English hospitals of World War 1 where surgeons were faced with reconstructive challenges of the horrific battlefield wounds from the war. Since then, the specialty has evolved in leaps and bounds and today continues to be in the forefront of surgical innovation and techniques.
Dr Teh has extensive experience in treating complex bony and soft tissue defects arising from trauma, infection and disease. He is able to use the full armamentarium of techniques available to Plastic Surgeons including skin grafts, local flaps, regional flaps and microvascular free tissue transfers.