Around 90 plastic surgeons and trainees from across India submitted nearly 120 short films on how lives were changed through plastic and reconstructive surgery of which 25 were screened at a film festival at AIIMS here on July 15.

The plastic surgery film festival was organised by the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI) along with the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery on the occasion of the 12th national plastic surgery day.

Of the films screened, three were about aesthetic surgery, 20 on burn reconstruction, nine about cleft, craniofacial and congenital disease, 24 on hand surgery and 23 on trauma surgery, said Dr Maneesh Singhal, the Head of the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery at AIIMS, New Delhi.

These films were judged by a learned jury, nominated by the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Dr Singhal said, adding of the films screened, six were awarded by APSI. Union Minister of State for Health commended the efforts made by the APSI for promoting public awareness about plastic surgery.

AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria it was unfortunate that the public perception about what plastic surgery is and what it covers is still largely lacking. In a study published in the International Surgery Journal in 2019, as many as 84 per cent of participants said plastic surgery involves only cosmetic surgery and 70 per cent said plastic is used in plastic surgery, he said.

Innovative ideas like this film festival will greatly help in altering perceptions about this field and how patients with debilitating diseases, cancers, trauma, burns, and congenital anomalies will benefit from it, Dr Guleria said.

Dr Ravi Mahajan, the president of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India emphasised the role of a plastic surgeon in trauma services and appealed to the ministry to strengthen and upgrade the departments of plastic surgery across the country.

APSI Secretary Dr Vijay Kumar briefed reporters about the availability of plastic surgery services in India. There are 2,500 plastic surgeons in India and more are being trained every year at 70 medical colleges providing such training, he said.