Specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery / Plastic Surgery
Dr. Andreas Born is a dentist and specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery with additional certification in plastic surgery; he has been in private practice in Stuttgart-Botnang since 2008.
„And every beginning holds a magic of its own …“
(Hermann Hesse, a German poet, from the poem „Stufen“)
Graduated from the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Stuttgart, a high school specializing in the humanities and classical languages.
Studied law and passed the intermediate legal examination at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.
Studied medicine and dentistry at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.
Research stays at the Department of Visceral Surgery at the Inselspital of the University of Bern, the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Zurich (Prof. H. F. Sailer), and the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (Dr. Susann Mackinnon, Professor and Chief).
Specialty training in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Heidelberg University Hospital (Prof. J. Mühling) and at Saarbrücken Municipal Hospital (Prof. J. Dumbach).
Worked as a specialist and senior physician, most recently as deputy department chair (Prof. C.-P. Cornelius) at the Bundeswehr Hospital in Ulm.
In addition, one year of full-time advanced training at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II at the University of Ulm at the Günzburg District Hospital (Prof. Th. Becker).
Additional training at the Department of Prosthodontics at the University of Ulm (Prof. P. Ludwig).
Further qualifications:
Facial plastic surgery, expertise in medical lasers, and primary care in psychosomatic medicine.
Has been in private practice in Stuttgart-Botnang since 2008.
Dr. Andreas Born and the Procedure of Surgical Wound Contraction
Is surgical wound contraction a new treatment method? – Yes and no.
The elasticity of the skin, which is stretched over wounds or defects, is the fundamental prerequisite for any reconstructive plastic surgery. Even the “ancient” surgeons in India and the anatomist and surgeon Gaspare Tagliacozzi in early modern Italy (1545–1599) literally pulled skin flaps from the forehead or upper arm to reconstruct mutilated noses.
Other contemporaries, such as the French surgeon Ambroise Paré (1510–1590), closed a cleft lip—commonly known as a “hare lip”—by wrapping a thread around a needle pierced through the area in the shape of a figure-eight, thereby drawing the freshly cut edges of the wound together *.
(georgnassos@web.de)
Plastic surgery in the head and face region using local flap transfers has now become highly sophisticated. However, closing defects in the nose and scalp, in particular, is usually a very complex procedure to achieve good functional and aesthetic results. Even with many years of experience, complications such as impaired wound healing and tissue necrosis can still occur.
Based on these considerations, we have opted for an alternative approach—instead of a single-stage wound closure—involving gentle, gradual wound contraction over multiple sessions. Surgical wound contraction is based on the observation that a circumferential, circular suture leads to a reduction of up to 5 mm toward the center. In this process, the skin is not overstretched, and blood flow remains unimpeded.
However, to the best of our knowledge, the procedure we describe—involving 3–4 sessions using individually adapted wound plates, as detailed in the protocol for facial skin cancer treatment—has not been described in this manner before and may therefore be considered “new.”
* References:
Thieme, V. (2010): Frühe schriftliche Quellen zur Geschichte der Spaltchirurgie. Ein Exkurs über vier Jahrtausende – Teil 2. Der MKG-Chirurg, Ausgabe 3/2010, S. 206 -210. Springer Medizin Heidelberg
Born, A., Markmann, H.-U. (2021): Zahnärztliche Geweberegeneration und Wundbehandlungstechniken. Mal ganz anders. PIP: 4, 14 -17
Born, A. (2022): Die Versorgung von tumorchirurgisch bedingten Gesichts- und Kopfhautdefekten, ein alternatives Praxiskonzept anhand von Fallvorstellungen. MKG-Chirurg 2022
Born, A., Markmann, H.-U. (2024): Plastic Coverage of a Lentigo-Maligna Defect in the Cheek, an Alternative Practice Concept. Volume 24, Issue 1, Compilation 1.0
Memberships
Member of the German Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (DGMKG)
Member of the Baden-Württemberg Medical and Dental Association
The Craft
The term “surgery” comes from Ancient Greek and literally translates to “hand-work.” What makes this work both challenging and exciting is the process of transforming an idea in my mind into “handwork.” For me, the use of my much-appreciated magnifying glasses with 3.5x magnification is indispensable; their extended field of view helps prevent the disruptive tunnel vision that can otherwise occur. This allows me to place even the finest sutures, resulting in a more cosmetically pleasing outcome.
In the end, an appreciative nod or a satisfied smile from patients—whether immediately after surgery or even years later—is the greatest reward for all the effort.
