Plastic surgery refers to the reshaping of body tissues. Although many people use plastic surgery and 'cosmetic surgery' interchangeably, in fact they are separate kinds of surgery. Plastic surgery can include both reconstructive surgery, such as procedures performed to correct damage caused by trauma or birth defects, and cosmetic procedures performed for aesthetic reasons on an otherwise healthy person. Cosmetic surgery is considered a subspecialty of plastic surgery.
There are many different types of plastic surgery intended to reshape nearly every area of the body, with new procedures and techniques being developed every year. Facial plastic surgery procedures are among the most common, and include facelifts, eye lifts, forehead lifts, rhinoplasty (nose jobs), ear reshaping, blepharoplasty (surgery on the eyelids), chin augmentation, and cheek augmentation.
In the United States, breast augmentation is the top requested plastic surgery procedure. Other plastic surgery procedures performed on the chest include breast reduction, breast lifts, breast reconstruction (following breast cancer treatment or other loss of breast tissue) and male breast reduction.
Other kinds of plastic surgery focus elsewhere on the body, and include arm lifts, thigh lifts, liposuction, abdominoplasty (a tummy tuck), buttock augmentation, and calf augmentation. The 'mommy makeover,' which combines several procedures, is a type of plastic surgery intended to restore women's bodies to their pre-pregnancy appearance.
Finally, there are non-surgical or non-invasive treatments often listed along with plastic surgery procedures. These include injectable treatments such as Botox, Radiesse, and Restylane. They also include skin resurfacing through peels, lasers, or microdermabrasion, along with laser hair removal and spider vein removal.
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