Perspectives on plastic surgery and global health.

Of the many factors affecting the health of the human race, those amenable to correction by plastic surgical intervention comprise a significant number. The interface between the global health community and the plastic surgery community historically has been quite diminutive, but this is changing with globalization. This overview provides a primer of global health for the plastic surgeon, and a discussion of the global burden of disease as it relates to plastic surgery. The article then briefly discusses the disparity between the global plastic surgery needs and the supply of expertise, and the difficulties presented by policy, finances, and implied societal preferences for care.