Plastic surgery is a general term for surgery which is performed for functional or aesthetic reasons.
The principal areas of plastic surgery include two broad fields.
- Reconstructive surgery, including microsurgery, which focusses on undoing or masking the destructive effects of trauma, surgery or disease. Such surgery may include closing defects by transplantion of tissue from other parts of the body.
- Cosmetic (or aesthetic) surgery, which most is often done to change features the patient find unflattering. In a few cases, however, there may be medical reasons (for example, breast reduction when orthopedic problems are present).
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2 Cosmetic surgery 3 Related disciplines 4 Addiction to cosmetic surgery 5 External link |
Common cases of reconstructive surgery are breast reconstruction for women who have had a mastectomy, facial- and contracture surgery for burn victims, closing skin- or mucosa defects after removal of tumors in the head and neck region.
There is a definite gray area between plastic and cosmetic surgery. For instance a bat ear correction is not considered cosmetic surgery, however, this is not a debilitating or dangerous condition.
Many people take a dim view of cosmetic surgery, as they see it as frivolous. It does, at any rate, involve some risk (like any operation) and should therefore not be undertaken lightly. Within the US, critics of plastic surgery have noted that it is legal for any doctor (regardless of speciality) to perform plastic surgery; a practice which, critics argue, leads to poorly performed surgery.
Despite criticism, cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular as less expensive and better techniques are being developed. There are numerous types of cosmetic surgery that can be performed. The most prevelant are listed below. Most of these types of surgery are more commonly known by their "common names." These are also listed when pertinent.
Some people appear to become addicted to cosmetic surgery, possibly because of body dysmorphic disorder. Sufficient amounts of repeated cosmetic surgery can lead to irreversible damage to the normal body structure. However, due to the high cost of repeated cosmetic surgery, this disorder is generally one limited to the wealthy.
See also: body modificationReconstructive surgery
Cosmetic surgery
Related disciplines
Addiction to cosmetic surgery