Overview of Plastic Surgery

What is plastic surgery?

It is a popular misconception that the word plastic in plastic surgery means artificial. Rather, the word is derived from the ancient Greek word plastikos, which means to mold or give form. Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involved with the reconstruction of facial and body tissue defects because of illness, trauma, or birth disorders.

Plastic surgery restores and improves function, as well as appearance. It can involve surgery on any part of the anatomy, except the central nervous system, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Skin (including skin cancer, scars, burns, birthmarks, and tattoo removal)
• Maxillofacial (the facial skeleton)
• Congenital anomalies (including deformed ears, cleft palate, and cleft lip)

Doctors who perform plastic surgery

It is important for patients to select doctors who are certified in plastic surgery by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Generally, a surgeon who is board-certified in plastic surgery has graduated from an accredited medical school and has completed at least five years of graduate medical education--usually three years of general surgery and two years of plastic surgery. In addition, the surgeon must practice plastic surgery for two years and pass comprehensive written and oral examinations to become board-certified.

What does plastic surgery include?

Plastic surgery includes both reconstructive and aesthetic (cosmetic) procedures:

• Reconstructive plastic surgery. In general, reconstructive surgery is performed on abnormal structures of the body that may be caused by the following:
  • Trauma
  • Infection
  • Developmental abnormalities
  • Congenital (present at birth) anomalies
  • Disease
  • Tumors
• Cosmetic (aesthetic) plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is performed to repair or reshape otherwise normal structures of the body, generally, to improve appearance.

Reconstructive plastic surgery is usually performed to improve function, but may also be performed to approximate a normal appearance.

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Online Resources of Plastic Surgery