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Artificial Intelligence in Plastic Surgery: Applications and Challenges

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Abstract

New developments in artificial intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to enhance plastic surgery practice, research, and education. In this article, we review relevant AI tools and applications, including machine learning, reinforcement learning, and natural language processing. Our own Markov decision process for keloid treatment illustrates how these models are developed and can be used to enhance decision-making in clinical practice. Finally, we discuss challenges of implementing AI and knowledge gaps that must be addressed to successfully apply AI in plastic surgery.

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Acknowledgement

Dr. Chung reports grants from National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute on Aging, grants from National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, outside the submitted work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 17th Department of Plastic Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

    Xuebing Liang, Xiaoning Yang, Jiguang Ma & Keming Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communication, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China

    Shan Yin

  3. Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sunitha Malay & Kevin C. Chung

Authors
  1. Xuebing Liang
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  2. Xiaoning Yang
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  3. Shan Yin
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  4. Sunitha Malay
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  5. Kevin C. Chung
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  6. Jiguang Ma
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  7. Keming Wang
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Correspondence to Keming Wang.

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Liang, X., Yang, X., Yin, S. et al. Artificial Intelligence in Plastic Surgery: Applications and Challenges. Aesth Plast Surg 45, 784–790 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-019-01592-2

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