Common Plastic Surgery Procedures

Plastic surgery involves two categories – cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries. 

A cosmetic surgery is a type of medical procedure performed on a person with the aim to improve his or her appearance. These procedures can be done with almost any part of the person’s body, but extreme caution must be taken into consideration before jumping into it. Dr. Tarek Copty warns that results of these procedures are mostly permanent so any unsure decisions can be a regret of a lifetime.

Reconstructive surgery is a procedure done for the purpose of improving the function or correcting a part of the person’s body that has been harmed or been damaged.

Visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery to learn more. 

Different Types

These aesthetic procedures can be done for different body parts.

• Breasts – usually done to increase breast size for women, implants are done. Mammoplasty, as it is called, includes augmentation or enlargement that is done by using silicone or saline gel as prosthetics but now fat grafting is also available. Breast reduction also can be done to improve posture or to relieve discomfort due to large breasts. Another type of breast surgery is called mastopexy or a breast lift. 
• General liposuction – this is lipectomy assisted by suction; it uses cannulas to vacuum fat deposits in various body parts. This is usually done in the abdomen, buttocks, thigh, back of arms, neck, and hips.  This can also be done on males as a form of breast reduction.
• Vulvovaginal – includes labioplasty, labiaplasty, reduction of labia minor or labial reduction

The Body

• Abdominoplasty or tummy tuck firms and reshapes the abdomen. The middle and lower abdomen is removed of excess fat. This may be appropriate after pregnancy or when one drastically loses weight.
• Buttock augmentation enhances the buttocks, to make it look larger. Fat is grafted from another part of the patient’s body or silicone implants will be done. 
• Buttock lift or lower body lift removes excess skin from the hips, thighs, and buttocks in order to stretch tighten and lift them. This can be done in combination with abdominoplasty.

The Face

• Blepharoplasty or surgery of the eyelid reshapes eyelids. When drooping of the eyelids happen with age, a surgery can be done to correct this. It can be either cosmetic or functional or both. It involves removal of excess fat and skin.
• Rhinoplasty otherwise known as a nose job is when a surgeon reshapes the nose of a patient to improve appearance; it can also be to improve breathing also. This surgery involves either reshaping the nose tip or reducing a bump at the upper part of the nose.
• Otoplasty or ear surgery corrects misshapen ears or prominent ears by doing a surgical procedure to pin the ear permanently closer to the head or reshape the cartilage, or both.
• Rhytidectomy or facelift removes wrinkles and tighten the skin of the face and result in a youthful appearance. An incision is done to lift off deeper facial tissue, tighten its drape, and remove excess skin. This can be done to both face and neck.
• Brow lift or browplasty or forehead lift removes wrinkles in the brow or forehead area and other signs of aging. This is often done with other procedures to achieve a more normal look. 
• Chin augmentation makes the chin more prominent. It can be done together with rhinoplasty and can either be with prosthetic implants or by just manipulating the chin bone. 
• Cheek augmentation is when a surgeon places an implant at the top of the cheekbones to make it more prominent.

Click here for a more comprehensive list of cosmetic procedures.

Less Invasive Procedures

These may include grafts, peels, fillers, and laser treatments.

• Chemical peels help treat pock marks, acne, scars, or wrinkles.
• Superficial peel which uses AHAs such as lactic, glycolic, or fruit acids in treating the outermost skin layers. 
• Medium peel uses TCA of different concentrations. It penetrates the skin’s deep layers. It takes a while to heel and redness and flaking will persist for days or weeks.
• Phenol peel or deep peel penetrates the skin’s deepest layers. It greatly impacts the skin but takes a longer time to heal and causes scarring and skin lightening.
• Botox or Botulinum toxin is a brand name of the toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. This is used to treat wrinkles. It treats frown lines, crow’s feet, and axillary hyperhidrosis. 

Hair Transplants

Tiny hair follicles are grafted from the back of the scalp and transplanted with minute incisions. Several sessions may be needed to achieve the patient’s desired results.

Anybody who wants to undergo plastic surgery procedures must stop smoking months before the procedure. They should avoid any other tobacco products because this interferes with the wound healing process. Another important matter is choosing a qualified surgeon who is accredited by a professional board to do the procedures.