Reconstructive Surgery Services

RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY

Reconstructive surgery is a subset of plastic surgery that requires many years of training and a dedication to a very intricate skill set. In addition, a reconstructive surgeon must be able to combine his knowledge with the personal characteristics and desires of the patient to produce successful results and improve quality of life.  Dr. David Zabel and his team have worked with countless men and women in Newark and surrounding areas to help them achieve beautiful, functional reconstructive solutions.

Comprehensive Reconstructive Care

Dr. Zabel has helped patients of all ages reshape problem areas of the face, body, and hands to achieve functionality and aesthetic beauty. Our team approaches every new case from a fresh, personalized perspective, taking into account your appearance goals. We can perform a wide variety of procedures, including birth defect repair, trauma reconstruction, breast reconstruction, cleft lip and palate repair, and many others. Our team operates with a level of compassion and sensitivity that is integral to the reconstructive focus.

Zabel Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery offers the following types of reconstruction procedures:

• Wound Management — burns, lacerations, and other wound-causing injuries. Patients can be seen at Smyrna Wound      Care, Riverside Wound Care and his private offices.
• Post-Bariatric Surgery Reconstruction
• Hernia Repair — Our team offers expert hernia care to help patients find a long-term solution for complex and recurrent      hernias.
• Surgical Dermatology — Our surgical dermatology services encompass a wide variety of skin conditions.
• Hand Surgery — Dr. Zabel performs a variety of different hand surgeries for conditions like carpal tunnel, tumors, injuries nerve and tendon repair, and more.
• Post-Cancer Reconstruction — Breast reconstruction is an important step for mastectomy patients. Dr. Zabel also helps patients with other types of cancer repair and reshape areas of lost tissue after tumor removal. Dr. Zabel is affiliated with the Helen F Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Hospital.
• Scar & Keloid Treatment — Our state-of-the-art hypertrophic scar and keloid removal is conveniently performed in-office.

For many reconstructive patients, multiple treatments may be recommended to achieve natural-looking results. Dr. Zabel will work with you to decide on a highly personalized solution. In many cases, insurance coverage is available for reconstructive procedures.

If you are searching for a reconstructive surgery solution, the professional, at Zabel Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery can guide you to the results you’re hoping for. Trust your procedure to Dr. David Zabel and find out what our practice can do to help you heal. 

Wound management is an incredibly challenging endeavor for plastic surgeons. Every patient’s wound care needs are unique, so the physician must be able to create and apply strategic solutions designed to promote proper healing that is aligned with overall health and wellness. Intimate knowledge of the healing process is integral to wound management success.  Dr. David Zabel is a seasoned wound management professional who has worked with many diverse types of injuries. His vast experience and training at the Wound Healing Research Lab at Duke University is a true asset as he sets out to design highly personalized care plans.

• Non-healing wounds
• Diabetic wounds
• Sacral wounds
• Ischial Wounds
• Acute and chronic wounds
• 
  

The Wound Management Process  Each patient’s wound management program involves a structured approach that follows these general guidelines:

• Overall health evaluation      — Dr. Zabel must accurately assess a patient’s overall health condition before      determining the best course of action. Any underlying health issues may      have an effect on the success of a certain wound care action.
• Condition cause and wound assessment — The team will perform evaluations and examinations to correctly interpret the degree of injury. Classifying the wound is an important step in      figuring out how to proceed and determining the best way to prevent infection.
• Immediate wound care — Dr. Zabel must utilize      the results of his evaluation, including the wound cause and      characteristics, to choose the ideal wound dressing and care plan.
• Wound repair and regeneration — The next step is to choose the best methods to encourage a total healing process, including      the regeneration of tissue.
• Long-term management — Long-term management of wounds includes applying progressive wound care techniques and taking measures to prevent injury or regression. Dr. Zabel will assess and recommend nutrition needs, medication programs, and other steps that ensure health.

Personalized Wound Management Dr. Zabel is tasked with choosing the best course of action while maximizing patient comfort, minimizing pain and risk, and improving efficiency. Here, there is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” solution. When you choose Dr. Zabel to manage your wound, you can trust that we will do everything we can to help you heal and get your body back in balance.

HERNIA REPAIR

Hernia patients are forced to endure pain and discomfort when weak abdominal muscles tear, allowing the internal organs to protrude. If you are searching for an experienced hernia repair surgeon, Dr. David Zabel offers a high level of surgical skill and a very compassionate, patient-focused experience.

Dr. Zabel can repair a variety of hernia types, umbilical hernias (occurring around the navel), and incisional hernias (occurring at past surgical sites).

Hernia Repair Technique:

Open Herniorrhaphy: Dr. Zabel opens the area with a single incision, removes the bulge or repositions it, strengthens the weakened abdominal muscle, and sutures the site closed.

Do You Need Hernia Surgery?
If a hernia is causing you pain or discomfort, or limiting your range of motion, it is time to seek a surgical solution. Keep in mind that, even if a hernia is not causing pain, it could be inhibiting blood flow or the digestive process. Schedule an evaluation with Dr. Zabel to protect your health and wellness and see if surgery is in your best interest.

Hernia Resources  At Zabel Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, we are dedicated to educating the community about hernia risks and the benefits of treatment. A key online patient resource, the Christiana Hernia Center, is currently being designed to provide easy access to important information.

If you are searching for an experienced hernia repair surgeon, find out what Dr. David Zabel and his skilled team can do for you. Please call or e-mail us today to schedule a no-obligation consultation.

SURGICAL DERMATOLOGY

Dr. David Zabel offers the specialty of surgical dermatology to help patients put an end to unsightly skin problems.  While many dermatology surgeons can successfully remove cancer, they often rely on a plastic surgeon to reconstruct these defects. At Zabel Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery we will not only remove the defect but use advanced techniques such as skin grafts and flaps.

At Zabel Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, our surgical dermatology services include the treatment of:

• Skin tags
• Moles
• Skin cancer (melanoma, basal cell, and squamous cell)
• Birthmarks
• Warts
• Cysts
• Acne, rosacea, and other skin      conditions

To give you an idea of the types of surgical dermatology treatments we offer, here is a brief description of skin cancer treatment and skin tag removal.

Skin Tag Treatment

Skin tags, small, non-cancerous growths that occur anywhere on the body, can be a nuisance and make you self-conscious. Although usually non-threatening, skin tags can differ in their size or appearance, and are especially intrusive when present on the face, eyelids, and neck. Skin tag removal can be performed using several different methods, depending on the size, shape, and location. Dr. Zabel may recommend cauterization (using heated electrolysis), or excision (cutting).

Skin Cancer Treatment
Skin cancer treatment is not a one-size-fits-all process. Depending on the type of cancer and specific characteristics of the abnormal growth, treatment must be strategic and highly personalized. Dr. Zabel’s surgical skin cancer treatments include the following:

• Excision — Excision is a basic cutting technique to remove cancerous cells.
• Skin Grafting — Skin grafting involves transplanting skin tissue from other areas of the body to areas      where cancerous cells have been removed in order to regain a normal appearance.
• Skin Flaps-There are different flaps for different surgeries. A local flap, tram flap (tissue      transplantation from a donor artery and vein), or free flap.

HAND SURGERY

Reconstructive surgery of the hand is one of the most intricate and challenging specialties. The hand is made up of a network of interdependent bones, connective tissue, and muscles .Most people think of an orthopedic surgeon when it comes to hand surgery but very few of the Delaware orthopedic surgeons perform hand surgery. If you are looking for an experienced, focused hand surgeon, Dr. David Zabel of Newark’s Zabel Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is one of few surgeons in the area who perform hand surgery.

Why Hand Surgery is Recommended?
Surgery of the hand may be done to improve functionality, appearance, or both. Patients seek a specialized hand surgeon for a variety of reasons, including disease (arthritis), injury, strain (carpal tunnel) and trauma (bone and tendon repair). Functional improvement surgery is performed to restore flexibility and range of motion for the wrist, palm, and fingers.

Are You a Hand Surgery Candidate?
Unexpected injury to the hand or a disease like carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis can severely limit your ability to perform everyday tasks. Hand surgery patients can choose this type of reconstruction to seek relief from numbness, pain, loss of movement, weakness, and other negative effects of injury or disease. If you have any degree of hand impairment, and your loss of functionality is affecting your quality of life, hand surgery may be a successful solution.

You may benefit from hand surgery if you meet any of the following criteria:

• You have an injury that is restricting your movement.
• A recent wound needs to be repaired to protect the integrity of hand function and/or appearance.
• You do not have any underlying  health conditions that would rule you out as a good candidate for hand  surgery.
• Disease or injury is causing you pain.
• Overuse of your hands has caused tendons or muscles to become weak and you’ve lost a degree of functionality.
• Arthritis has made operation of hand joints painful or difficult.
• You have painful or unattractive cysts.
• You have fractured your hand bones or strained the ligaments.
• You’re concerned about limited motion in the hands, wrists, or fingers and the cause is undetermined.

Our Delaware hand surgeon has extensive experience with many different types of hand injuries and diseases. After a thorough evaluation of your condition, we can discuss the various hand surgery types with you and recommend a solution to help you improve your quality of life.

Cancer is often described as the most difficult challenge a person can face. As you take life one day at a time and focus your efforts on survival, you’re forced to endure many physical changes. Thankfully, cancer survivors far outnumber cancer losses, and centers like Zabel Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery work with patients to maximize their quality of life after cancer.

Dr. Zabel performs intricate reconstructive plastic surgery for many types of cancer, including breast cancer, skin cancer, head cancer, neck cancer, and pelvic cancer. He is regarded as one of the foremost reconstructive surgeons in Delaware for his exceptional work with breast cancer patients. To give you an idea of how post-cancer reconstruction is made possible, here is a brief summary of some of the reconstruction types offered.

Breast Reconstruction
Following mastectomy (breast removal), Dr. Zabel uses state-of-the-art materials and techniques to rebuild the breast, including nipple and areola construction. In addition to pairing well with your proportions, the reconstructed breast should look as natural as possible. Reconstruction may be done at the time of mastectomy or at a later date. In some cases, additional surgeries may be needed to achieve the optimal breast appearance.

Breast reconstruction may involve the insertion of a breast implant, or Dr. Zabel may recommend a tissue flap procedure. With this method, tissue is harvested from a patient’s own body and used to rebuild the breast. Dr. Zabel is the only reconstructive surgeon in area offering breast with free tissue transfer when indicated.

Head and Neck Cancer
In tandem with a head and neck surgeon, Dr. Zabel can rebuild the floor of the mouth, jawbones and neck structure.

Skin Cancer
Depending on the severity and location of the cancer, skin cancer reconstruction techniques can include excision (removal), excision with a skin graft, local flap (tissue rearrangement), and free flap (tissue transplantation from a donor site).

Sarcoma
Based on the damage done by this type of cancer, Dr. Zabel may utilize methods like: excision and closure, skin grafts, local flap, tram flap (tissue transplantation from a donor artery and vein), or free flap.

Trust Dr. David to help you find peace of mind and plan your personal post-cancer reconstruction. 

Scars on your face and body can be a source of embarrassment and make you extremely self-conscious. But with today’s advanced scar removal therapy, you can dramatically minimize the appearance of these glaring marks and restore a normal skin appearance.

If you would like to find a skilled plastic surgeon that can help you reduce the look of hypertrophic scars and keloids, Dr. David Zabel offers state-of-the-art treatment to Delaware patients.

Challenging Skin Lesions
Raised scar tissue is often highly noticeable due to the differing color and texture. Hypertrophic scars, gathered scar tissue following a wound, can be quite a nuisance. Many patients with this kind of scarring report irritation, redness, and discoloration of the skin. Keloids are markings that are usually larger than hypertrophic scars and develop beyond the borders of a wound site. In addition to being unsightly, they can cause itchiness and discomfort and often become progressively larger. Not only do scars and keloids throw off our natural, symmetrical appearance, they are often a challenge to treat as every lesion is unique.

Scar Revision Treatments
Convenient and safe, scar and Keloid treatment can perform right in our office.

Dr. Zabel works with a several methods for optimum removal results. Depending on the characteristics of your scar or keloid, the following treatments may be recommended:

• topical gels
• compression therapy
• injectable corticosteroids
• radiation therapy

Your treatment or combination of treatments will be determined by factors like the size, thickness, and sensitivity of the lesions. While Dr. Zabel cannot guarantee complete scar removal, we can show you a gallery of before and after photos to give you an idea of your possible scar revision results.