What is plastic surgery?
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty focused on the reconstruction of injured, impaired and defective parts of the face and body. Reconstructive plastic surgery may be required as a result of birth defects or developmental disorders, injuries, burns and tumors or other diseases. Although reconstructive plastic surgery may restore or improve a patients’ appearance, the primary focus of plastic surgery is the restoration of the body. The term “plastic” derives from the Greek term “plastikos” which means “able to be molded”.
What procedures does a plastic surgeon perform?
Generally speaking, reconstructive plastic surgery involves the removal of tumors, repair of fractured bones and lacerations on the face and body, surgery on the hands, breast reduction (in women and men) and reconstruction, repair of cleft palates and other congenital abnormalities and skin grafts to repair severe burns. Plastic surgeons can also create new body parts from tissue and skin, such as an ear, and attach it to a patient; they also reattach amputated extremities.
Plastic surgery is an extensive field that has been broken down into the following subspecialties:
Is cosmetic surgery different than plastic surgery?
- Microsurgery – Microsurgery entails the transfer of tissue, skin, muscle, bone or fat to other areas of the body where needed on the face and body, as well as the reconnection of blood vessels. Popular procedures include breast reconstruction, head and neck reconstruction and hand surgery.
- Hand surgery – A part of microsurgery, hand surgery is practiced by hand surgeons, plastic surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and general surgeons. It focuses on the reconstruction of acute and chronic diseases of the hand and wrist, nerve problems (carpal tunnel syndrome) and the correction of congenital malformations of the hands as well as the reattachment of amputated extremities.
- Burn surgery – Acute burn surgery is the treatment immediately after a burn; reconstructive burn surgery takes place after the burn wounds have healed. Common burn surgery procedures are skin grafts, in which areas of skin are transplanted to cover a burned area of skin.
- Craniofacial surgery – Pediatric craniofacial surgery focuses on the reconstruction of congenital anomalies of the hard and soft tissues of the face, such as cleft lip and palate. Adult craniofacial surgery focuses on the reconstruction of facial fractures, as well as orbital reconstruction (area of the face around the eyes) and orthognathic surgery (surgery on the jaw and face to correct conditions such as sleep apnea or TMJ).
- Pediatric surgery – Pediatric surgery is a blend of hand surgery and craniofacial surgery, dealing with deformities and defects in children.
Cosmetic surgery is a subspecialty of plastic surgery. However, unlike plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery is primarily focused on enhancing a patient’s appearance. Cosmetic surgery can be performed on all areas of the head, neck and body, and is typically elective (i.e. the necessity is at the discretion of the patient).
Some of the most common cosmetic procedures include breast surgery (either augmentation such as with implants sometimes desired after surgery for removal of cancers of the breast, or breast reduction desired for proportion or to improve comfort), rhinoplasty or “nose job”, blepharoplasty or “eyelid surgery”, abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck” and liposuction. Popular nonsurgical procedures include Botox injections and laser hair removal.