Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the
correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or
aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most
plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of
reconstructive surgery, hand surgery, microsurgery, and the treatment of
burns.
Plastic surgery is a broad field, and may be subdivided further.
Cosmetic
Aesthetic surgery is an essential component of plastic surgery.
Plastic surgeons use cosmetic surgical principles in all reconstructive
surgical procedures as well as isolated operations to improve overall
appearance.
The most prevalent aesthetic/cosmetic procedures include:
- Abdominoplasty (“tummy tuck”): reshaping and firming of the abdomen
- Blepharoplasty (“eyelid surgery”): reshaping of the eyelids or the
application of permanent eyeliner, including Asian blepharoplasty
- Phalloplasty (“penile liposuction”) : construction (or
reconstruction) of a penis or, sometimes, artificial modification of the
penis by surgery, often for cosmetic purposes
- Mammoplasty:
- Breast augmentations (“breast implant” or “boob job”): augmentation
of the breasts by means of fat grafting, saline, or silicone gel
prosthetics, which was initially performed to women with micromastia
- Reduction mammoplasty (“breast reduction”): removal of skin and
glandular tissue, which is done to reduce back and shoulder pain in
women with gigantomastia and/or for psychological benefit men with
gynecomastia
- Mastopexy (“breast lift”): Lifting or reshaping of breasts to make
them less saggy, often after weight loss (after a pregnancy, for
example). It involves removal of breast skin as opposed to glandular
tissue
- Buttock augmentation (“butt implant”): enhancement of the buttocks
using silicone implants or fat grafting (“Brazilian butt lift”) and
transfer from other areas of the body
- Buttock lift: lifting, and tightening of the buttocks by excision of redundant skin
- Chemical peel: minimizing the appearance of acne, chicken pox, and
other scars as well as wrinkles (depending on concentration and type of
agent used, except for deep furrows), solar lentigines (age spots,
freckles), and photodamage in general. Chemical peels commonly involve
carbolic acid (Phenol), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), glycolic acid (AHA),
or salicylic acid (BHA) as the active agent.
- Labiaplasty: surgical reduction and reshaping of the labia
- Lip enhancement: surgical improvement of lips’ fullness through enlargement
- Rhinoplasty (“nose job”): reshaping of the nose
- Otoplasty (“ear surgery”/”ear pinning”): reshaping of the ear, most often done by pinning the protruding ear closer to the head.
- Rhytidectomy (“face lift”): removal of wrinkles and signs of aging from the face
- Browplasty (“brow lift” or “forehead lift”): elevates eyebrows, smooths forehead skin
- Midface lift (“cheek lift”): tightening of the cheeks
- Chin augmentation (“chin implant”): augmentation of the chin with an
implant, usually silicone, by sliding genioplasty of the jawbone or by
suture of the soft tissue
- Cheek augmentation (“cheek implant”): implants to the cheek
- Orthognathic Surgery: manipulation of the facial bones through controlled fracturing
- Fillers injections: collagen, fat, and other tissue filler injections, such as hyaluronic acid
- Laser Skin Rejuvenation or Resurfacing:The lessening of depth in pores of the face
- Liposuction (“suction lipectomy”): removal of fat deposits by
traditional suction technique or ultrasonic energy to aid fat removal
- Brachioplasty (“Arm lift”): reducing excess skin and fat between the underarm and the elbow
Burn
Burn surgery generally takes place in two phases. Acute burn surgery
is the treatment immediately after a burn. Reconstructive burn surgery
takes place after the burn wounds have healed.
Micro
Microsurgery is generally concerned with the reconstruction of
missing tissues by transferring a piece of tissue to the reconstruction
site and reconnecting blood vessels. Popular subspecialty areas are head
and neck reconstruction, hand surgery/replantation, and brachial plexus
surgery.
Craniofacial
Craniofacial surgery is divided into pediatric and adult craniofacial
surgery. Pediatric craniofacial surgery mostly revolves around the
treatment of congenital anomalies of the craniofacial skeleton and soft
tissues, such as cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis, and pediatric
fractures. Adult craniofacial surgery deals mostly with fractures and
secondary surgeries (such as orbital reconstruction) along with
orthognathic surgery. Craniofacial surgery is an important part of all
plastic surgery training programs, further training and
subspecialisation is obtained via a craniofacial fellowship.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is surgery to treat many diseases,
injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft
tissues of the oral (mouth) and maxillofacial (jaws and face) region.
Hand
Hand surgery is concerned with acute injuries and chronic diseases of
the hand and wrist, correction of congenital malformations of the upper
extremities, and peripheral nerve problems (such as brachial plexus
injuries or carpal tunnel syndrome). Hand surgery is an important part
of training in plastic surgery, as well as microsurgery, which is
necessary to replant an amputated extremity. The Hand surgery field is
also practiced by orthopedic surgeons and general surgeons (see Hand
surgeon). Scar tissue formation after surgery can be problematic on the
delicate hand, causing loss of dexterity and digit function if severe
enough.
Pediatric
Children often face medical issues very different from the
experiences of an adult patient. Many birth defects or syndromes present
at birth are best treated in childhood, and pediatric plastic surgeons
specialize in treating these conditions in children. Conditions commonly
treated by pediatric plastic surgeons include craniofacial anomalies,
cleft lip and palate and congenital hand deformities.