Dr. Pavuluri Sreenivasa Rao is a distinguished Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeon at Medicover Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. With over 13 years of experience in the field, Dr. Rao has an impressive academic background, having completed his MS in General Surgery from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore in 2007, followed by an M.Ch in Plastic Surgery from Osmania General Hospital in 2012.
He is an esteemed member of several professional bodies, including the All India Association of Plastic Surgeons, the Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons (AHRS), and the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI). Dr. Rao specializes in a wide range of plastic surgery procedures, from reconstructive surgery and hand surgery to burns reconstruction, hair transplantation, and various cosmetic surgeries such as rhinoplasty, liposuction, and breast surgeries.
In a conversation with MedBound Times, Dr. Yogeeta V H, BDS talks with Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao about plastic surgery, burn injuries, and more!
Dr. Yogeeta V H: Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: Thank you for having me. I am Dr. Pavuluri Sreenivasa Rao, a Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeon and Senior Consultant at Medicover Hospital. I have over 13 years of experience in the field. My academic journey began with completing my MS in General Surgery from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore in 2007, followed by an M.Ch in Plastic Surgery from Osmania General Hospital in 2012.
I am a proud member of several professional associations, including the All India Association of Plastic Surgeons, the Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons (AHRS), and the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI). My specialization encompasses a wide range of plastic surgery procedures, including reconstructive surgery, hand surgery, burns reconstruction, hair transplantation, and various cosmetic surgeries such as rhinoplasty, liposuction, and breast surgeries. My goal is to combine technical expertise with compassionate care to improve the lives of my patients.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: Why did you choose to become a plastic surgeon?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: I am interested in doing plastic surgery, a branch with multiple sub-branches like burns, trauma, onco reconstruction and cosmetic surgery with a lot of scope in treating different groups of patients with a high level of professional satisfaction.
Great! Today we will be talking about burn injuries.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: What are burns? How do we define and classify them?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: Burn injury is damage to the skin with different levels of depth due to multiple etiological factors like thermal burns, electrical burns, chemical burns, contact burns, lightening burns, etc.,
Classification based on depth:
Partial thick (1 degree);
Medium thickness (2,3 degrees) and;
Full-thickness (4 degree)
Dr. Yogeeta V H: Can you walk us through the first aid involved in treating burns?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: First aid depends on the etiology of burns
Primary fundamental of any first aid is to immediately avoid contact of the source and try to decrease the temperature of contact with the skin by using lukewarm water and not applying any foreign body over the wound.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: How does a burn unit operate? What is the role of a plastic surgeon on the team?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: A burn unit should be run by a plastic surgeon as chief along with other personnel like an efficient ICU and burns nursing staff, efficient Intensivist, physiotherapist, psychiatrist, dietitian, efficient anesthetist, with modular operation theatre and ICU facility.
Once a patient has recovered well from all the wounds he or she needs rehabilitation with good physiotherapy modules.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: How is pain management achieved in burn injuries?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: There should be a separate pain management department headed by an anesthetist and from day 1 we should give the patient good pain management by using routine painkillers and also opioids as well.
Also, in recent days there has been advanced patient-controlled pain management available in a lot of centers.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: What is the rate of nerve regeneration after severe burns?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: For any nerve injury the rate of nerve regeneration is 1mm /day. The time for full regeneration depends on the target organ (sensory/motor).
Dr. Yogeeta V H: Innovative burn treatment options like the use of fish skin and spray-on skin are becoming more popular. What is the science behind these practices and how effective are they?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: I have not used these techniques, the ultimate principle for the wound to be covered is based on recipient area vascularity.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: We often see maggots used to treat burn patients. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this practice?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: As per my knowledge I never used maggots in treating burns wounds but definitely, maggot helps in the debridement of avital tissue of the wound.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: What is the psychological effect of burn injuries on patients, as they can lead to life-changing disfigurement?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: The main effect of burn injuries and burn sequelae is functional disability as well as psychological depression especially facial and limb burns.
So psychological counseling and therapy are needed from day 1 after burn injury till the completion of all burn reconstruction procedures as well as patient needs rehabilitation even after the completion of the whole treatment.
I want to go a little off-topic here and talk about current practicing trends in the field of plastic surgery.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: What is the main difference between plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery? How does the practice differ?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: Plastic surgery is mainly involved in reconstructive work to make the patient near normal after any loss of tissue due to trauma/burns/congenital anomalies/cancer etc.,
Whereas cosmetic surgery is for the enhancement of the aesthetic appearance of a patient in whom there is no tissue loss or damage and cosmetic surgery is definitely a branch of plastic surgery.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: With cosmetology short courses gaining more popularity among other healthcare professionals like dentists, do you feel it is impacting the quality of cosmetic practice in the market today?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: Definitely yes!
All these short courses of cosmetic practice lack fundamental knowledge of the disease or treatment.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: How big is the market today for non-aesthetic procedures in cosmetic surgery like treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and such?
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: Definitely less as compared to aesthetic procedures.
Dr. Yogeeta V H: Cosmetic procedures are expensive and usually not covered under insurance. What steps are taken to overcome this financial disadvantage in the field? (in terms of government schemes or incentives)
Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao: My hard feeling is government try to reduce prices of cosmetic equipment and products mainly to reduce the burden on patient.
Thanks to Dr. Pavuluru Sreenivasa Rao for sharing his insights with the healthcare community at MedBound Times.