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Plastic surgery is divided into basically two different types: cosmetic and reconstructive. The latter addresses serious damaged or malformed body features, while cosmetic surgery is focused on the aesthetic concerns of the patient and is considered elective surgery.
Cosmetic surgery may be considered elective, but can do much to lift one's self esteem and confidence. Many cosmetic surgery patients have suffered with body image problems, endured significant teasing throughout their lives or tried many other alternatives to cope with a physical feature that they found unattractive or embarrassing.
Plastic surgery can enhance a patient's appearance, and therefore, feelings of confidence. Many people who have cosmetic surgery feel that their overall life quality is improved following surgery. - Cosmetic surgery generally focuses on the face or the central part of the body (i.e. above the legs). Procedures involving the face include full face-lifts, brow or eye lifts. Another common facial surgery is rhinoplasty, or a nose job. The nose may have a hump removed, the bridge straightened, the entire nose shortened or straightened or other re-sculpting. Surgeries to the body include those involving the breasts, particularly enlargement or augmentation, reduction or lifting of the breast tissue. Another body surgery is the tummy tuck, where excess fat and skin is tightened in the abdominal region. Also, the surgical procedure of liposuction, or removing fatty deposits, can involve virtually anywhere on the body where excess fat collects.
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The result of a face-lift is an overall younger appearance. When brows or eyes are lifted, a refreshed and younger appearance is the goal, removing bags under the eyes, reducing wrinkles and lifting sagging areas.
With rhinoplasty, the contour of the face will be dynamically changed. The nose may be straighter, shorter, smaller or reshaped to give a more pleasing appearance or balance to the face.
With breast augmentation, the breasts will be larger, or perhaps one breast will be altered more to allow a more symmetrical appearance. With a breast lift, sagging tissue and skin will be removed, tightened and possibly the areola will be made smaller, to give a firmer, higher appearance to the chest area. With breast reduction, the breasts are made smaller, and often a lift is done as well to tighten sagging tissue. With reduction, a patient may also notice the health benefit of less back pain as well.
The result of a tummy tuck is a leaner, flatter appearance to the abdominal region. When excess fat and skin is removed or tightened, and sometimes muscle areas restructured due to weakness, the result is a firmer, sleeker look to the tummy.
Liposuction will reduce the fatty or flabby appearance on various body parts, and depending on how much is removed, a significantly different look can be achieved. The patient may lose multiple inches and clothing sizes. - Plastic or cosmetic surgery is not a cure-all or a process of merely picking out a new body part from a catalog and replacing the old one. Different procedures are certain to need updating eventually, such as breast augmentation. Breast implants are not considered permanent, and patients need to be aware of what changes will occur and when to expect them and what they can do when those changes happen. With tummy tucks, breast reduction and liposuction, the patient must know that any significant weight gain will have a dramatic, and negative, effect on the surgical results. Rhinoplasty is performed on cartilage, not bone, and as such, the results are somewhat unpredictable. Also, especially with nose jobs, the final result will not be known for about a year.
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While plastic surgery is a popular and often performed type of surgery, it is not for everyone. Certain people make poor plastic surgery candidates. Cancer patients are not good subjects for plastic surgery, although reconstructive surgery for women who have had a breast removed would be a possible exception. Those with serious and chronic diseases, such as heart disease, blood pressure, diabetes or clotting disorders are likely to be poor patients for plastic surgery. The risks of such surgeries may worsen their conditions, or create life-threatening complications. Those with hepatitis or HIV are not good candidates, either. Those who are morbidly obese are also not recommended as plastic surgery candidates.
Others that should avoid plastic surgery are those with certain mental health issues, such as those with body dysmorphic disorder. These patients often seek repeated, unnecessary plastic surgeries and are not satisfied with any result. Those with unrealistic expectations involving cosmetic surgery also make poor cosmetic surgery patients.
