Cosmetic Surgery or Plastic Surgery: What's the Difference?
In my experience, I have found that most people - including MDs - use the terms plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery interchangeably. They do not mean the same thing; they are not synonyms.
Plastic surgery describes any surgery, on any part of the body that changes form and/or function. The root word, plas, from Greek, means "to form or to shape." And, by the way, contrary to common opinion, plastic surgery does not infer that "plastic" parts are automatically used. Plastic surgery was performed thousands of years before man invented "plastic."
Plastic surgery is a two-component specialty: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery seeks to restore appearance and function to a pre-injury or pre-tumor state. You are already familiar with the more common reconstructive procedures: skin grafting for burns; covering bed sores with natural tissue; correcting congenital deformities, such as cleft lip and palate; management of burns, repairing auto injuries; limb transplantation; cancer removal and tissue reconstruction.
Reconstructive plastic surgery has been performed for hundreds of years; some rudimentary repair procedures were done thousands of years ago during the time of Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.).
Cosmetic surgery is a much more limited branch of plastic surgery. Cosmetic procedures aim to surpass nature by improving our natural appearance or by reversing the signs of aging. Facelifting, breast augmentation, wrinkle removal, and nasal cosmetic surgery are among the procedures performed daily that either make us look better and/or younger.
The first documented cosmetic surgical procedures upon the face, for example, were performed late in the nineteenth century. But most of the long strides in cosmetic surgery have occurred only in the last 40 years.
Now you understand that all cosmetic surgery is plastic surgery, but not all plastic surgery is cosmetic. Knowing that, you are wiser than 95% of the population.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery, beauty, health and wellness
Plastic surgery describes any surgery, on any part of the body that changes form and/or function. The root word, plas, from Greek, means "to form or to shape." And, by the way, contrary to common opinion, plastic surgery does not infer that "plastic" parts are automatically used. Plastic surgery was performed thousands of years before man invented "plastic."
Plastic surgery is a two-component specialty: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery seeks to restore appearance and function to a pre-injury or pre-tumor state. You are already familiar with the more common reconstructive procedures: skin grafting for burns; covering bed sores with natural tissue; correcting congenital deformities, such as cleft lip and palate; management of burns, repairing auto injuries; limb transplantation; cancer removal and tissue reconstruction.
Reconstructive plastic surgery has been performed for hundreds of years; some rudimentary repair procedures were done thousands of years ago during the time of Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.).
Cosmetic surgery is a much more limited branch of plastic surgery. Cosmetic procedures aim to surpass nature by improving our natural appearance or by reversing the signs of aging. Facelifting, breast augmentation, wrinkle removal, and nasal cosmetic surgery are among the procedures performed daily that either make us look better and/or younger.
The first documented cosmetic surgical procedures upon the face, for example, were performed late in the nineteenth century. But most of the long strides in cosmetic surgery have occurred only in the last 40 years.
Now you understand that all cosmetic surgery is plastic surgery, but not all plastic surgery is cosmetic. Knowing that, you are wiser than 95% of the population.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery, beauty, health and wellness
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