Plastic surgery is used to restore and improve congenital or acquired defects. The spectrum ranges from cleft palates and ear deformities to contusions or severed body parts.
Cosmetic surgery is all about pure beautification: it includes procedures such as wrinkle reduction, breast reduction or augmentation, liposuction, and rhinoplasty.
Today, these fields can no longer be separated. This is because even burn surgery, for example, has found new ways to optimize results through aesthetic surgery.
What is “plastic surgery”?
Plastic surgery deals with the correction and restoration of body contours and impaired visible bodily functions.
It is used:
- After trauma (injury, accident)
- After an illness, and
- In cases of congenital malformations
The goals of plastic surgeons are to create a natural, aesthetic appearance that meets the patient’s wishes. Restoring impaired bodily functions is also part of their scope of practice.
This is achieved through the use of:
- modern surgical techniques
- minimally invasive procedures
- or traditional surgical techniques
Typical procedures performed by plastic surgery specialists include:
- breast augmentation or breast reduction
- Breast reconstruction following breast cancer surgery
- Restoration of the skin surface following disfiguring injuries or tumor surgery
- Removal of scars and growths
- Liposuction
- Facelift
- Rhinoplasty
- Upper arm lift
- Thigh lift and
- Tummy tuck
Before the surgery, the doctor uses a pen to mark the areas on the skin where liposuction will be performed @ andriano_cz /AdobeStockWhat Is Cosmetic Surgery?
People often equate cosmetic surgery with aesthetic surgery. However, unlike plastic and aesthetic surgery, cosmetic surgery is not a recognized medical specialty in its own right.
From a medical perspective, cosmetic surgery is not necessarily a medically required procedure. Cosmetic surgeries are primarily intended to alter the human body and make it subjectively more attractive.
An upper arm lift is a popular surgical procedure to remove excess tissue from the arms @ Alessandro Grandini /AdobeStock
Which medical specialists focus on cosmetic surgery?
There is no such thing as a “cosmetic surgery specialist.” In general, any surgeon can specialize in cosmetic surgery.
In most cases, cosmetic surgeons are specialists in plastic and aesthetic surgery. In Germany, these plastic and aesthetic surgeons can be found at public hospitals, private clinics, or in private practices.
What cosmetic procedures do cosmetic surgeons most commonly perform?
Particularly common cosmetic surgery procedures include:
- Rhinoplasty
- Ear correction
- Eyelid surgery
- Liposuction
- Tummy tuck
- Breast surgery (e.g., breast augmentation, breast reduction, breast lift)
- Facelift
Rhinoplasty is one of the most challenging cosmetic procedures on the face @ Olga Shefer / AdobeStock
The Process of Cosmetic Surgery: Two Examples
As examples of plastic and cosmetic surgery, we will explain liposuction and facelifts (in the context of wrinkle reduction) here.
During liposuction, doctors typically remove excess abdominal fat from the patient using a cannula. Liposuction is the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery by plastic surgeons.
The goal is to remove unwanted fat deposits from any part of the body, e.g.:
- on the face
- on the thighs
- on the abdomen, or
- on the hips
The chances of success depend largely on lifestyle changes. This includes more exercise and a balanced diet.
Before resorting to lasers or a scalpel, patients undergoing a facelift often try to have wrinkles and depressions filled with dermal fillers.
In reputable cosmetic surgery clinics, a wide variety of procedures are used for this purpose.
For example, cosmetic surgeons frequently use botulinum toxin, which results in very effective skin tightening.
However, wrinkle fillers such as autologous fat, as well as ablative and non-ablative laser treatments, are also very popular. In addition, there are chemical peels and surgical facelifts.