Plastic Surgery / Cosmetology
What is it?
Plastic Surgery is the surgical procedure that is performed to reorganize or repair body parts by transferring tissues due to injury and major illness, for example, breast reconstruction surgery after breast cancer.
Cosmetology or Cosmetic surgeries are surgical treatments, including plastic surgery, performed for cosmetic reasons so as to maintain the beauty and liveliness of the human body. This is usually performed by skilled plastic surgeons.
Types of plastic and cosmetic surgery
There are different types of plastic surgery provided for an individual and some of them are,
- Breast reconstruction after cancer
- Congenital defects
- Cleft lip and palate repairs
- Craniofacial deformities
- Hand surgery
- Head and neck reconstruction after cancer
- Maxillofacial surgery
- Microvascular surgery
- Repair of postoperative defects
- Repair of post-traumatic defects
- Removal and reconstruction for skin cancer
Some of the available cosmetic surgeries procedures include,
- Abdominoplasty that is the reduction of the abdomen
- Chemical peel
- Augmentation mammoplasty includes the alteration, enlargement, lift or reduction of the breast
- Blepharoplasty is commonly known as eyelid rejuvenation
- Brow Lift
- Chin and neck fat removal
- Contouring of the abdomen, hips, and limbs
- Contouring of the face
- Cosmetic orthognathic surgery is the correcting of the jaws
- Dermabrasion
- Endoscopic cosmetic surgery
- Facial rejuvenation
- Genioplasty is the contouring of the chin
- Hair restoration
- Facelift
- Laser skin resurfacing
- Liposuction, also known as body fat removal
- Otoplasty is the alternation of the ears
- Rhinoplasty is the alternation of the nose
- Refinement of facial features
- Scar revision
- Skin augmentation
- Tattoo removal
- Tooth restoration and alteration
- Ultrasonic lipoplasts
- Vascular blemishes
Complications and risks
In some cases, such as motor vehicle accidents or a burn victim, plastic surgery is usually performed in order to reconstruct the features of the patient, as it may be physically unappealing or to bring back the sensation of the skin and for mobility.
Any surgical procedure involves complications so it is required to get proper medical advice before continuing with the surgery. Some of the known complications include,
- If the patient has a history of cardiovascular diseases, obesity or diabetes, they may risk developing pneumonia, stroke, heart attack or blood clots.
- If the surgery requires anesthesia, complications such as pneumonia and blood clots might occur sometimes.
- Infection
- Bleeding
- Numbness and tingling from nerve damage
Treatment
Plastic surgical procedures that are done as treatment options include,
- Skin grafts. It is a procedure performed on burn victims that involves transplanting skin from one part of the body to another.
- Microsurgery is performed to re-attach specific body parts such as a toe, finger or part of the lip with the help of a microscope.
- Free flap is performed in breast reconstruction as well as after surgery for head or neck cancer. In this procedure, transferring of muscle, skin or bone along with the blood from the original site to the surgical site is done to reconstruct the area.
- Tissue expansion is a procedure that enables extra growth of the skin. This is done in order to help in reconstructive surgical procedures.