Cosmetic surgery and reconstructive surgery are the two branches of plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery involves making changes and improvements in the physical appearance of a person. It is performed with the purpose of correcting a physical disability or just approximating a normal physical feature. It is a broad term which encompasses operations and reconstructive surgeries to remove or hide burns, to reshape the nose, to make wrinkles disappear etc. Initially it was only used when became absolutely necessary as in the cases of injuries occurring due to wars. It was used to reconstruct a damaged eye, repair a nose or treat any other physical abnormality.
Cosmetic surgery began to be regularly used after World War I when the soldiers needed treatment of the injured parts. Gradually it gained acceptance and soon became common. Celebrities or affluent class disappear to get this surgery and appear with improvements in their aesthetic appearance. Now it is common to the extent that television reality shows are telecasted about this. Experts say that there are certain restrictions on getting cosmetic surgery. It is not appropriate for every individual. Patients need to assess their strengths and personality traits before going for this surgery.
There are several types of cosmetic surgeries. One is called Tummy Tuck i.e. abdominoplasty. It involves reshaping of abdomen area. During this process excess volume of fat is removed from middle and abdomen area thereby tightening the muscle of abdominal wall. It is more commonly required by people who have lost a great deal of weight and want to remove the downward bulges or curves in the middle. Or by pregnant women. Another type is eyelid surgery which is called blepharoplasty. As the name implies this is concerned with reshaping of the eyelids or permanent eyeliner is applied. The process is used to reshape upper or lower eyelid by removing or shifting extra tissues. It helps to improve the eyesight of people with drooping eyelids.
Similarly lower body fit is also one of the forms of cosmetic surgery. This includes buttock augmentation and buttock lift. Buttock augmentation enlarges the size of the patient’s buttocks by removing fats from another part of the patient’s body or using a silicon implant. Whereas buttock lift makes the buttocks look tighter and gives it a more pert appearance. Scarless technique is commonly used on this procedure. Lower body fit also helps to remove sagging skin of thighs, hips etc. Face lifting also called rhytidectomy involves soothing out wrinkles by surgical treatment. The purpose is to make the face of the patient appear younger and thinner than before. Excess layers of skin are removed and redraped on face or neck. Ear surgery known as otoplasty involves reducing the size of very large ears or reshaping the bends in the cartilage. Usually it is used on ears which are sticking out, or are large or possess abnormal shape. Other forms of cosmetic surgery include liposuction called suction-assisted lipectomy, cheek augmentation, brow lift, hair transplantation, labiaplasty and job also called rhinoplasty.
