Plastic Surgery Assessment
Use when asked to administer, score, or explain a Plastic Surgery Assessment — reconstructive/aesthetic surgery candidacy using ASA Physical Status, wound classification, and surgical complexity scoring — grounded in FormExamples/form-examples.
Plastic surgery assessment evaluating reconstructive and aesthetic surgery candidates using ASA Physical Status Classification (I–V), wound classification, and surgical complexity scoring.
Scoring
Instruments: ASA Physical Status (I–V), Wound Classification (I–IV), Surgical Complexity (1–4).
- Wound Class I (Clean) — uninfected operative wound; II (Clean-Contaminated) — controlled contamination; III (Contaminated) — open, fresh accidental wounds; IV (Dirty) — old traumatic wounds with clinical infection.
- Risk levels: Low (minor procedure, ASA I–II), Moderate (intermediate procedure, controlled comorbidities), High (major reconstruction, ASA III), Critical (emergency reconstruction, ASA IV–V, significant tissue loss).
What it covers
Demographics; reason for referral; medical and surgical history; current condition assessment; wound and tissue assessment; psychological assessment; anaesthetic risk assessment; photography and documentation; current medications and allergies; and procedure planning with consent.
Common pitfalls
- Assessing aesthetic candidates with the same weight on wound classification as reconstructive/trauma candidates — wound classification is central for reconstructive and trauma cases but largely inapplicable to elective aesthetic procedures on intact skin; apply the relevant instruments to the actual case type.
- Skipping psychological assessment for aesthetic procedures — realistic expectation-setting and screening for body dysmorphic concerns matters specifically for elective aesthetic surgery, not just reconstructive cases.
- Underweighting anaesthetic risk for a "minor" procedure classification — surgical complexity and anaesthetic risk don't always move together; a technically minor procedure in a patient with significant comorbidities can still carry meaningful anaesthetic risk.
Learn more
- FormExamples: plastic-surgery-assessment for the full implementation, clinical references, and worked examples.
- Pre Operative Assessment By Clinician for the general pre-operative anaesthetic assessment this often accompanies.