Plastic Surgery Services for Children

When a congenital condition, facial difference, or injury affects your child’s appearance, plastic surgery can be part of the treatment plan. Plastic surgeons at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone specialize in treating craniofacial conditions that affect the appearance or development of a child’s face and skull. Our personalized care addresses your child’s medical needs while also recognizing how an improved cosmetic result can affect your child’s self-esteem and overall wellbeing.

Conditions we treat include the following:

• craniosynostosis, which occurs when the bones in a baby’s skull fuse together too soon, causing the skull to develop an abnormal shape, potentially also affecting the brain and eyes
• cleft lip and cleft palate, which are gaps in the lip or palate that form before birth
• birthmarks, including hemangiomas and vascular malformations
• nasal differences or trauma, such as distorted or broken noses
• ear anomalies, such as a misshapen or absent ear
• jaw imbalance, asymmetry, or malocclusion that affects the appearance of the smile
• eyelid or eye socket anomalies, such as asymmetry of eyes, prominent eyes, or eyes that are wideset
• facial differences, such as asymmetry of the face and distortions of the face or facial injuries

Our pediatric plastic surgeons also perform procedures to improve appearance after cancer treatment or an injury, revision surgery to improve on previous surgical procedures, and all forms of cosmetic plastic surgery, including eyelid, jaw, ear, and nose enhancements.

Our pediatric plastic surgery treatments use the latest surgical and medical technology. This includes facial implants and three-dimensionally printed titanium plates and screws that are individually designed and custom fabricated based on your child’s anatomy and facial characteristics.

Nasoalveolar molding, a treatment developed at NYU Langone, is used to prepare children for cleft lip and cleft palate surgery. We use the latest computer-designed presurgical planning and navigation systems, incorporating medical photography and x-rays, to help guide the most complex craniofacial surgeries.

Procedures are performed at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital—34th Street, one of the newest and most technologically advanced pediatric hospitals in the country.

Support During Craniofacial Treatment

Many conditions that affect the face and neck also affect eyesight, breathing, chewing, swallowing, and hearing. We partner with specialists in these areas, including neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, orthodontists, otolaryngologists, and speech–language pathologists.

Emotional support through diagnosis and treatment can be helpful for the entire family. Our support services team, which includes social workers, psychologists, and child life specialists, is provided through Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care.

For conditions diagnosed in the womb, our doctors provide prenatal consultations to develop a surgical plan that can begin shortly after birth. We always consider and incorporate the needs of both the child and the family into the care plan.

We follow our patients as they grow, and our plastic surgeons, who also specialize in craniofacial surgery for adults, can continue providing care when necessary.