Skin and Soft Tissue Reconstruction: Past, Present, and Future

Dermatologic surgery has evolved rapidly over the past 50 years, and dermatologists now perform more cutaneous reconstructive procedures, particularly on the head and neck, than any other specialty. The innovations and refinements developed by pioneering dermatologic surgeons have encouraged and enabled their colleagues, as well as their trainees, to develop their skills and perform similarly reproducible, aesthetically elegant repairs. Performance measures have now been developed to objectively assess the quality of reconstructive results. Future generations of dermatologic surgeons will likely utilize tissue engineering and artifical intelligence to improve patient outcomes even further.