Plastic surgery is a field of medicine devoted to molding or rearranging tissues of the body. It may be intended to repair a defect or to change the shape or enhance the function of a body part. Today, most plastic surgery performed is either reconstructive or cosmetic. Reconstructive plastic surgery is performed to repair or replace a part of the body that is missing or damaged. This condition may result from injury or congenital defect. Cosmetic plastic surgery involves reshaping normal tissues to improve or change appearance. The word plastic comes from a Greek word meaning to shape or mold.
Reconstructive plastic surgery
aims to replace damaged tissue with tissues of similar appearance and function. The surgical technique often involves grafting. In grafting, the plastic surgeon replaces damaged tissue with healthy tissue from another area of the body. Tissues used for repair may also be transplanted from a donor or from tissues engineered in a laboratory. Within days, wound-healing processes reconnect the transferred tissues to the circulation system. Otherwise, blood would not circulate through the tissue adequately and the tissue would die. Tissue grafting is usually performed for thin tissues. Such tissues include skin, tendons, and blood vessels. These tissues can survive several days after transplantation without blood flow. Grafting is often used for treating severe burns, gunshot wounds, and injuries resulting from automobile accidents.
Plastic surgeons may also transfer tissue while maintaining the connection to the circulation system. Tissue transferred in this manner is called a flap. Usually, the surgeon rearranges adjacent or nearby tissues in such a way that the artery and vein supporting the flap remain connected to it. Sometimes, the plastic surgeon must divide the blood vessels that support the flap. The surgeon must then connect them to different blood vessels at a distant location where the flap is needed. This technique usually involves connecting the blood vessels with small sutures (threads) using a surgical microscope. Such surgery enables plastic surgeons to reconstruct damaged tissues in the body in a single operation instead of multiple operations.
Cosmetic surgery
usually involves removing, altering, or rearranging tissues. In doing so, the surgeon must leave little evidence of surgery, such as scarring. Cosmetic surgery is most often used to reverse the appearance of changes associated with aging. A facelift operation removes excess or aged facial skin. The removal gives the patient a more youthful appearance. This surgery is also known as a rhytidectomy. Cosmetic surgeons use liposuction to remove excess fat from such areas as hips, thighs, and ankles. In this procedure, an incision is made in the skin. Then, fat is suctioned out through a tube.
Cosmetic surgeons may also use synthetic materials to fashion implants. Such implants may be used to enhance appearance or attractiveness or even help change sexual identity. Implants are often used to change the shape of the nose, cheeks, or chin. The most common plastic surgery using implants involves altering the size or shape of a woman’s breasts. This type of operation is called mammoplasty or breast augmentation. In a mammoplasty, the plastic surgeon inserts a synthetic implant into one or both breasts.
Congenital deformities can be corrected by rearranging and reshaping tissues. Such deformities include cleft lip, cleft palate, and birth defects of the face, ears, hands, and genitals. Similarly, a deformed or unattractive nose can be reshaped in an operation called a rhinoplasty.
Qualifications for a plastic surgeon.
Plastic surgery requires considerable skill to achieve the necessary precision to repair body parts with minimal deformity. In the United States, plastic surgeons are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. To be eligible for certification, a person must graduate from an accredited medical school. The person must then serve at least three years of residency in general surgery. An additional two years of residency must be served in plastic surgery. The person then must pass a written and oral examination prepared by the board. Other countries have different requirements.
A plastic surgeon’s credentials can be verified by checking with a local medical society or with the American Board of Plastic Surgery. The board’s website is at https://www.abplsurg.org. Names of local plastic surgeons can be obtained from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The society’s website is at http://www.plasticsurgery.org.
