Plastic Surgery: Scratching the Surface

The word “plastic” in the surgery known as Plastic Surgery does not actually refer to the material itself. This word is derived from the Greek word “plastikos” which really means to mold or shape. This is a pretty convenient term, considering what the surgery is for.

Unknown to most, some procedures resembling Plastic Surgery date back as far as 8th century BC in India. A great Indian surgeon there is recorded to have been using skin grafts for reconstructive surgery. Ancient documents even describe the procedures of rhinoplasty, a type of surgery that is used to improve the function and appearance of a person’s nose, also known today as a “nose job”.

Plastic Surgery is a medical specialty that involves many surgical techniques that allows for a doctor to alter the appearance of a patient’s body or face. There are two uses for this kind of surgery. One is for cosmetic purposes and the other is for reconstructive solutions.

Cosmetic Surgery is probably the more popular of the two. Used for personal enhancement, it involves people going through operations just to improve their physical appearance. People will mostly improve the shape of their noses or even stretch their skin back so that they may look younger. However, there are medical critics in the US who do not consider this to be a form Plastic Surgery since it is legal for any doctor to perform such an operation.

Plastic Surgery’s accepted definition is the surgical repair of defects in form or function. This is where reconstructive surgery takes the spotlight. The procedure is used to correct defects and also destructive effects that have been caused by disease or by accident. The most common surgical procedure in this case is women’s breast reconstruction, especially those who have gone through major surgery that has damaged their physical appearance. This is also especially important for burn survivors and also for the closing of skin after tumors have been removed.

Some reconstructive surgery can be very specific and be very tedious to the point that it takes a microscope to operate on a particular area of damage. Surgeons today have developed what is called microsurgery just for the purpose of repairing small blood vessels and nerves that span about 1mm in diameter. This type of reconstructive surgery involves the use of am operating microscope to magnify the region that needs repair.

Plastic Surgery is broad and can involve many types of procedures that concern the repair of particular damage in the human body. However, it is not something that can be taken very lightly since it involves a surgical process. But this does not seem to worry the 11.9 people who have actually “gone under the knife”. This is especially true in the case of cosmetic surgery. Over time, it has been observed that people get addicted to cosmetic surgery as it enhances their physical beauty, helping them to be more acceptable to modern society that dictates the notion that “looks are everything.” What a majority of patients do not know is that repeated surgery can cause permanent damage to the area operated on.

In conclusion, plastic surgery is best for treatments related to accidents like fire, car crash, etc. It should not be used to cater to the obsession of film stars, who want to look young forever and are not ready to do so by natural means like yoga, healthy food and regular exercise. Plastic Surgery Marketing helps numerous Dentists & Plastic Surgeons promote practices and this process has to be followed all over the world as only then will there be no such cases available and this would work only for the benefit of mankind, not to promote selfish agendas to make some quick bucks through unscrupulous means.