Thursday, December 10, 2009
Skull deformities, facial deformities, breast reconstruction, hand reconstruction — every day is a new challenge for Richard Korentager, director of plastic surgery at KU Medical Center.
Contributed photo
About face: Plastic surgeon Richard Korentager says he enjoys helping burn and breast cancer victims.
People commonly equate plastic surgery to cosmetic surgery, Korentager says, but “plastic” in the medical sense comes from the Greek word plasticos, which means to form or to shape. Basically, any time a patient has complex injuries or defects and needs reconstructive surgery, plastic surgeons are bound to be involved.
As director of the burn center at the University of Kansas Hospital, Korentager has developed a specialty in burn-related surgery. However, when he is on call, he must be able to handle any area in his field, so he must know the basics of all types of plastic surgeries.
His job at the medical center takes up a lot of his time, but Korentager’s surgical passion at his private practice, KC Plastic Surgery in Kansas City, Kan., is breast reconstruction after cancer. It’s not the most complicated surgery he performs. Still, he enjoys breast reconstruction because it brings out his inner artist, even though he says he will never be able to make perfect breasts.
Plastic surgery tends to attract students who get a thrill from completing difficult tasks. About 200 former engineers, accomplished artists and other professionals apply for two spots in KU Med’s plastic surgery residency program every year, 80 to 90 percent of whom are exceptionally qualified, he says.
“It’s a very competitive field to get into and a very competitive residency,” he says. “But if it’s your passion, and its what you really want, boy, there’s just nothing better.”
He warns potential medical students and plastic surgery patients that the real world isn’t like Nip/Tuck, though.
“Unfortunately, it’s not quite as glamorous,” he says. “I would love to think that it is, but it’s not, really.”
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