Cosmetic surgery
Face and body procedures planned around your proportions, not a template, with a frank conversation about recovery and realistic results.
Associate Professor & Plastic Surgeon · Mangaluru
Reconstruct.
Refine.
Restore confidence.
Dr Karthik Aithal is a microsurgery-trained plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon practising at Hampankatta, Mangaluru.
MBBS · DNB (Gen Surg) · MCh & DrNB (Plastic) · MNAMS
Super
Specialty
2020
Consulting
Mon to Fri
5 to 7 pm
Mon to Fri
5 to 7 pm
Where he trained
-
MBBS Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore2010
-
DNB, General Surgery St. Isabel Hospital, Chennai2015
-
MCh, Plastic Surgery Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam2020
-
DrNB, Plastic Surgery National Board of Examinations2021
-
MNAMS National Academy of Medical Sciences2021
About
A surgeon's hands,
trained twice over.
Dr Karthik Aithal began in general surgery before super-specialising in plastic surgery at Andhra Medical College, then clearing the DrNB and being elected a member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. He trained in microsurgery at Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, and spent time at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai. Since July 2023 he has been Associate Professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Father Muller Medical College and Hospital, teaching and operating there alongside his private practice.
His practice spans both halves of the specialty: reconstruction after burns, trauma and cancer, and aesthetic surgery for people who want to change something about how they look. Every consultation starts the same way, by understanding what you actually want, and being honest about what surgery can and cannot do.
Assoc. of Plastic Surgeons of India
IAAPS
IMA Mangalore
What he treats
Six areas of practice, drawn from the reconstructive and aesthetic sides of plastic surgery.
Scope of practice
Every procedure he performs.
The full range offered across his private practice and the Department of Plastic Surgery at Father Muller Medical College Hospital. If what you need is not listed, ask at the consultation.
Cosmetic surgery
Elective procedures to change how something looks.
Face & neck
08Facelift
Rhytidectomy
Brow lift
Eyelid surgery
Blepharoplasty
Nose reshaping
Rhinoplasty
Ear correction
Otoplasty, including ear lobe repair
Neck lift
Platysmaplasty
Chin augmentation
Genioplasty
Cheek implants
Breast
03Breast augmentation
Implants
Breast reduction and lift
Mastopexy
Gynecomastia surgery
Male chest reduction
Body contouring
04Tummy tuck
Abdominoplasty
Liposuction
Arm and thigh lift
Brachioplasty, thigh lift
Buttock augmentation
Fat transfer or implants
Skin, hair & injectables
03Facial fillers and Botox
Hair transplant
Laser skin resurfacing
Reconstructive surgery
Rebuilding form and function after injury, disease or birth difference.
Burns & trauma
03Burn injury reconstruction
Skin grafting, contracture release
Scar revision
Trauma and post-surgical scars
Post-traumatic reconstruction
Including facial fractures
Cancer reconstruction
03Breast reconstruction
Post-mastectomy, autologous flaps
Skin cancer removal and repair
Head and neck reconstruction
After cancer or trauma
Microsurgery & complex wounds
03Microvascular free flap surgery
For large or complex defects
Pressure sore surgery
Hernia repair with muscle flaps
Hand, nerve & congenital
02Hand surgery
Tendon transfer, nerve repair, congenital hand
Congenital anomalies
Cleft lip and palate, ear deformities
Specialised
02Lymphatic surgery
Lymphoedema
Gender affirming surgery
Chest masculinisation, feminisation
Not sure which one applies to you?
Bring your reports and photographs to the clinic. He will tell you plainly whether surgery helps, and what it involves.
Microsurgical training
Formal hands-on training at Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, the reference centre for reconstructive microsurgery in India.
Academic practice
Six peer-reviewed papers and a best-paper award, kept current through national and international conferences.
Unhurried consults
Evening clinic hours by appointment, so there is time to talk through options, costs and recovery before you decide.
Career
Where he has worked
2015 to 2017
Senior Resident, General Surgery
Srinivas Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalore
2017 to 2020
MCh Plastic Surgery residency
Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam. Best Postgraduate, 2018 to 2019.
2021
Plastic Surgery unit
Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai
Oct 2021 to Jul 2023
Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Srinivas Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalore
Jul 2023 to present
Associate Professor, Plastic Surgery
Father Muller Medical College and Hospital, Mangalore
Alongside private practice at Hampankatta, next to City Centre Mall
Specialist courses
- Hands-on microsurgery, Ganga Microsurgery Training Institute, Coimbatore (2020)
- Cadaveric flap dissection, ESIC Medical College, Hyderabad (2019)
- Cadaveric flap dissection, Govt. Medical College, Kozhikode (2023)
- Tendon transfer & vascular anastomosis workshops, Visakhapatnam
Awards
- Best Postgraduate, 2018 to 2019 Andhra Medical College
- Best Paper, Burns section APRASCON 2018, Hyderabad
Also: community health camps with Srinivas Institute of Medical Sciences (2016) and the Indian Red Cross Society at Paderu, Visakhapatnam (2018).
Research
Published work
2026
The knowledge and attitude towards cosmetic gynaecology: trends, psychological effects, and the growing role of dermatologists
International Journal of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 10(3): 332 to 336
2026
A study to evaluate the burn injury profile in pregnant women at a tertiary care centre
International Journal of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 10(2): 1244 to 1250
2021
Reconstruction of scalp defects in electrical burns: challenges and options
Journal of Head & Neck Physicians and Surgeons, 9: 56 to 58
2021
Pedicled perforator flaps
Lilavati Hospital Medical Times, July 2021
2019
Vascular malformations: a hospital-based study
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 7(8): 2936 to 2944
2015
Predictive value of inflammatory markers in acute appendicitis and their complications
CIBTech Journal of Surgery, 4(3): 17 to 24
Video
Hear him explain it,
and see the work.
Health programmes recorded for regional television, alongside operative footage from his own cases.
On television
Full episodes of Arogya Kirana on V4 News, in Kannada.
Gynaecomastia explained
What causes breast tissue to develop in men, the symptoms, and when surgery is the answer.
Arogya Kirana · V4 News · Kannada
Burns, first aid and skin donation
Common burns and their treatment, first aid at home, preventing burn scars, and how skin banks work.
Arogya Kirana · V4 News · Kannada
Diabetic foot
How diabetes affects the feet, the warning signs, and what can be done before an ulcer becomes an amputation.
Arogya Kirana · V4 News · Kannada
From the operating theatre
His own cases, filmed and annotated during surgery and follow-up.
These clips show real operations, open wounds and healing tissue. Nothing plays until you choose to play it. Some viewers may prefer to skip this part.
Sacral pressure sore
Closure of a deep sacral pressure sore using bilateral advancement flaps.
Leg reconstruction
Soft tissue cover for a lower limb defect, from raw wound to healed leg.
Multiple facial fractures
Plating and fixation of several broken facial bones in one sitting.
Scalp reconstruction
ALT free flap from the thigh, settled at three months
Facial reconstruction
Extensive facial wound, before and after healing
Gynaecomastia
Marking, gland excision and the chest at closure
Eyelid surgery
Blepharoplasty for eye bags and droopy lids
Heel reconstruction
Exposed heel bone covered with a radial forearm free flap
Tongue reconstruction
Rebuilt after cancer removal with a radial forearm free flap