What does it do? Short answer: makes repairs on very tiny things in the body.

Recently, there was a case in Minot, North Dakota, in which a man’s nose was torn from his face in a motorcycle accident.

Coming to the victim’s aid was not a plastic surgeon, but Dr. Juan Ulloa, a dentist with four years training in oral and maxillofacial surgery. (Read more about the rhinoplasty reattachment.)

As you might guess from the name, microsurgery is performing surgery under a microscope.

Dr. Ulloa was under the gun because the past has shown that he has about two hours to reattach a nose and stand a reasonable chance of it remaining alive on the patient’s face.

Just how tiny are the items involved in microsurgery?

The thread used to reattached blood vessels is ten times thinner than a human hair. So, your first guess is correct. The surgeon absolutely needs a microscope or ultra high bionic lenses on his or her glasses to see the work.

Before reattaching,  blood vessels must have clean, not ragged, edges so they will grow back together.

Dr. Juan Ulloa and patient

The work is extremely exacting: the blood vessels and nerves on which the surgeon works can be as small as two to four millimeters.  (One millimeter equals the width of the period at the end of this
sentence.)

The facial transplants that took place at the Cleveland Clinic required reconnecting multiple areas of the face with microsurgery.

According to news reports, Dr. Ulloa reattached the patient’s nose by finding the severed ends of his nasal arteries and veins and sutured them together. He then reattached the nasal tissue and splinted his nose to keep the bones in place.

“Cartilage in the nose is very soft and it’s difficult to get an acceptable result in such a case,” said Dr. Ulla who was holding his breath about the outcome.

But the patient had about the best outcome that could be hoped for.

While infection is always a possibility in cases like these, good aftercare resulted in the patient having a nose that looks normal, has sensation and – last, but certainly not least – one that he can breathe through.