Why did you feel that it was important to write a book on Aesthetic Surgery of the Facial Skeleton? What does your publication add to the field?  

Over the past several decades, significant advances have occurred in the approach to aesthetic surgery of the facial skeleton such as virtual surgical planning, 3-D imaging, and custom implants. Additionally, ancillary techniques have been incorporated into the aesthetic approach to skeletal problems that were traditionally treated with skeletal surgery alone. The book is intended to illustrate how a multimodal approach to the improvement of facial form can be incorporated to produce optimal results. 

What is the most exciting aspect of Aesthetic Surgery of the Facial Skeleton? What chapter or topic covered in the new edition are you most excited about?  

I am excited about the advances in virtual surgical planning which include 3-D photographic analysis, 3-D skeletal analysis, and virtual surgical planning in skeletal aesthetic surgery. This technology has dramatically improved the accuracy and efficiency of facial skeletal surgery. Additionally, the chapters in fat grafting, dermal fillers, lip and smile aesthetics, nasal analysis and more show how these modalities contribute to the aesthetic results of skeletal surgery and how underlying skeletal movements contribute to the aesthetic enhancement of soft tissue rejuvenation.  

Who will find the greatest value from this book and why?  

The intended audience of this volume encompasses myriad specialists, including plastic surgeons, craniofacial surgeons, dermatologists, otolaryngologists, oculoplastic surgeons, and oral maxillofacial surgeons, who routinely encounter patients seeking aesthetic facial surgery. Our hope is for every physician to gain an appreciation for the combined role of multiple techniques so that each provider has the most updated information regarding the best approach for each patient.  

What new ideas, practices, or procedures do you hope your readers take away from Aesthetic Surgery of the Facial Skeleton?  

It is hoped that this text will serve as a definitive resource for numerous specialists to broaden their awareness and facilitate the implementation of these concepts and techniques and their multimodal application to optimize outcomes in aesthetic surgery of the facial skeleton.

What problem do you hope the future generation of Plastic Surgery will be able to solve?  

Improving our understanding of the 3-D soft tissue response to skeletal movements will hopefully allow surgeons to develop novel 3-D facial analyses to serves as a guide for skeletal treatment planning to produce an optimal soft tissue result.  Skeletal surgery of the face is the most powerful to alter facial form, and proper treatment planning produces results that have tremendous rejuvenative effects on the facial soft tissue.  As predictability and efficiency improve, it is possible that skeletal surgery may one day be considered a primary approach to facial rejuvenation in selected patients. 

Stephen B. Baker, MD, DDS is a Professor in the Medstar Georgetown Department of Plastic Surgery and Medical Director of the Craniofacial Program at Inova Children’s Hospital in Falls Church Virginia.  His practice specialty is aesthetic and reconstructive maxillofacial surgery specifically in how the skeletal support affects the overlying soft tissue. 

Get your copy of Aesthetic Surgery of the Facial Skeleton, 1st Edition here.