Plastic Surgery Advice

Dr. Ivo Pitanguy – The Plastic Surgery Guru

“The quest for plastic surgery emanates from a transcendent finality. It is the attempt to reach harmony between body and spirit, emotional and rational, aiming to establish an internal balance which allows the individual to find harmony with his own image and the universe that surrounds him.”- Ivo Pitanguy

Dr Ivo Pitanguy, known as the ‘The king of plastic surgery’ is a legendary plastic surgeon not only in Brazil but worldwide. Recognized as one of the world’s most eminent plastic surgeons, Ivo Pitanguy has enhanced the appearance of hundreds of the world’s celebrities, as well as many thousands of others. He is the director of the Ivo Pitanguy Clinic, the most prestigious aesthetic plastic surgery facility in the world. He is also the head & professor of the Post-Graduate Medical School of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and the Carlos Chagas Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Studies where plastic surgery facilities to the masses are provided by a team of plastic surgeons under the supervision of Prof.Ivo Pitanguy in line with his philosophy and techniques.

Dr Ivo Pitanguy was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1926 and graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro School of Medicine in 1940s.Dr. Pitanguy later got educated in the U.S. and France and started practice in Rio de Janeiro in 1950s.He developed and innovated various plastic surgery techniques and became a pioneer of plastic surgery in Latin America.

In 1963, he started Ivo Pitanguy Clinic which has now become a world reference and center of excellence in the aesthetic plastic surgery. Pitanguy renovated a ward ”38th infirmary” at the public Santa Casa da Misericórdia Hospital in Rio where, for four decades, he has operated on hundreds of impoverished patients at no charge. He gained deep respect for performing reconstructive surgery on the poor and for his dedication to creating a better life for those with burn deformities and birth defects. This centre also provides whole range of aesthetic surgical procedures for general masses at nominal cost. Here more than a thousand plastic and aesthetic surgeries are performed each year by the team of over 40 plastic surgeons.

Now the 38th infirmary has became a sort of “Mecca” of plastic surgery in Brazil where plastic surgeons from all over the world visits to improve their knowledge and learn various techniques in plastic surgery.Dr Pitanguy has trained more than 600 plastic surgeons from 40 different countries over a period of more than 40 years at this centre which is considered to be a reference of excellence in the formation of plastic surgeons.

Author Dr Sanjay Saraf with Dr Ivo Pitanguy

Prof Ivo Pitanguy is credited with inventing 100’s of plastic & aesthetic surgery techniques. He has received numerous national and international distinctions. He was honored with the title of Chancellier des Universités de Paris and Doctor Honoris Causa of Tel Aviv University in Israel, among many others. As a guest professor, he has presented his work in several conferences and more than 100 institutions, hospitals, universities and plastic surgery associations around the world.Ivo Pitanguy is the author of more than 800 papers published in various international scientific magazines and has written many book chapters in plastic surgery books. His book, “Plastic Surgery of the Head and Body,” which was launched in 1981 at the Frankfurt Book Fair, received the prize for the best scientific book of that year and became an important comprehensive source of plastic & aesthetic surgery knowledge.

Besides his work, he appreciates the jet-set lifestyle; international travel and his beautiful home.Prof Pitanguy can speak several languages and is an avid art collector and philanthropist. “I try to harmonize my life between surgeries, classes and conferences without giving up the pleasure of living,” says Dr Pitanguy. An ardent nature-lover, Dr Pitanguy also devotes much of his time to the protection of the environment. In the 1970s, he created an ecological sanctuary on the island of Porcos Grande. He also has a passion for art, and was president of the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro from 1975 to 1985. Professor Pitanguy has received countless distinctions for his work, and was particularly proud in 1999 when his life was made the theme of “The Universe of Beauty”, a show by Rio’s popular samba school, Caprichosos de Pilares.

Truly, seeking beauty for physical and mental well being is a right of all .The desire to beautify and achieve it is everybody’s dream. Dr Pitanguy has shouldered this task for more than half a century. For Professor Pitanguy the greatest goal in his life remained to be able to give everyone, regardless of their race or social class, harmony and peace with their own image and psyche. His philosophy and legacy will forever continue to achieve this task.

The predominance of plastic surgery in the news and on the internet has made it common knowledge to the general puiblic. But yet many have misconceptions aboout what plastic surgery is and does. Here are some of those questions….and answers.

Why is it called “plastic” surgery?

From the Greek word, plastikos, comes the meaning of plastic surgery, to mold or shape. That is also the origin for the name of the man-made material that is found almost everywhere today -plastic. Plastic is part of most everyday materials, from creedit cards to window shades, as it can be made into any physical form.

The term “plastic surgery” then refers to surgery that molds or shapes the human body. Unfortunately, despite the latest advances in plastic surgery, we still cannot mold the human body into any desired form. And we very rarely (with the exception of breast implants) actually use a plastic material to do the surgery. We can, however, make a big difference in either sculpting one’s face or body for cosmetic purposes or reconstructing a missing or lost body part by using today’s state-of-the-art surgical techniques.

What is the difference between plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, aesthetic surgery, and reconstructive surgery?

Aesthetic surgery, cosmetic surgery, and plastic surgery potentially all refer to the same type of surgery; surgery done to change a physical structure that is otherwise normal or improve appearance. This is why cosmetic surgery is not covered by insurance.

Reconstructive surgery is performed to reshape abnormal structures of the body, from either accidents, injuries, infections, cancers, or other diseases, as well as congenital deformities. These types of problems are usually covered by your medical insurance.

What are the most common cosmetic plastic surgery procedures?

In 2005, 10.Several million cosmetic procedures were performed in the U.S of which 1.8 million were actual intraoperative surgeries. Total U.S. revenues generated from these procedures was 9.4 billion dollars.. The five most commonly performed cosmetic procedures in the United States are nose reshaping, liposuction, eyelid surgery, breast augmentation, and facelift. With the latest innovations in cosmetic plastic surgery, patients may now benefit from more natural results, faster recovery, and safer procedures. Consequently, more and more people have decided to take advantage of these advanced procedures to help them their appearance or restore a more youthful look. In fact, the number of people choosing cosmetic plastic surgery has nearly tripled in the past 10 years!

The most popular plastic surgery procedures for women include nose reshaping, liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, facelift, brow lift, tummy tuck, and breast lift. Men also have nose reshaping, liposuction, eyelid surgery, facelift, as well as surgery to treat gynecomastia, or male breast reduction.

Why is rhinoplasty so popular?

The first plastic surgery performed, thousands of years ago, was nasal surgery in India and Egypt. People have had concerns about their noses for a long time! The popularity of rhinoplasty (nose reshaping) is due to its effectiveness at changing the shape of the nose (as the whole appearance of the face) as well as improving breathing through the nose. Rhinoplasty can reduce or increase the size of the nose, change the shape of the tip or bridge, narrow the span of the nostrils, or change the angle between the nose and the upper lip. It may also correct a birth defect or injury, or help relieve some breathing and sinus problems.

Common reconstructive plastic surgery procedure would be?

In 2005, 5.1 million reconstructive procedures were performed by plastic surgeons in the U.S. The top five procedures performed include skin cancer removal, laceration repair, scar revision, hand surgery, and breast reduction

Nasal Attraction

By Jullene Du Toit

South African Dr Pieter Swanepoel is one of the top five nose surgeons in the world. He has pioneered the next great step forward in nose jobs in South Africa.

A kindly aunt of mine once offered me a nose job. “Unfortunately you’ve inherited the Du Toit beak,” she said briskly. “And you know that noses only get longer the older you get. I’ve just come into a bit of money, so if you ever have the urge…”

I spared a wistful thought for my aunt while sitting under twin spotlights, every bump obvious on the computer screen showing my image from a digital camera.

Now, as you can see,” said Dr Pieter Swanepoel, wielding a pen-shaped mouse and special pad, “your nostrils are not symmetrical, and the tip is maybe too pointy. If we just smooth this part here…”

I blinked as the tip of my nose waggled on the computer screen and Dr Swanepoel started doing a virtual resculpting, shortening it, smoothing it and lifting it up ever so lightly at the end. Rather nice, I thought, gazing at the colour print-outs at the end of the session.

The Nose Clinic in Pretoria East is tucked into a sprawling property of indigenous bush, completely private and hidden from the road. It is one of the best in the world, so highly respected that Dr Swanepoel is to present a paper on his method of using local anaesthetic to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in New York later this year.

He has pioneered the next step forward in rhinoplasty – painless, quick-healing, and much less stressful to the body than going under general anaesthetic.

It’s a technique known as ‘conscious sedation’ or ‘regional sensory nerve blocking’. A special computer linked to a microneedle measures and injects tiny quantities of anaesthetic under the skin – a gentle, painless procedure. You have the op in the morning, are conscious throughout, and in the afternoon someone can take your woozy self home to sleep it off. In ten days or so all the bruising and swelling is gone and you have yourself a beautiful new nose, and chin too, if that’s needed.

Dr Swanepoel is one of seven surgeons worldwide testing the procedure, and is the only one using local anaesthetic for nose and reconstructive surgery.

Then of course, there’s the specially designed American software that allowed him to tweak my nose into something of beauty. It’s only used by one other plastic surgeon in South Africa. All the rest, I’m afraid, are still sketching noses onto photographs and drawings.

Rhinoplasty, according to the good doctor, is the surgery of minutiae of millimetres. Tiny changes make big differences. You change an imperfect nose, and suddenly the face looks different.

“That’s because the human eye always focuses first on imperfections. The nose is the centre focus of the face, the fulcrum, so to speak. You cannot hide it with clothes or hair. Once a defect is rectified, the attention goes to the strongest part of the face, usually the eyes. In fact the Americans have a saying: A good rhinoplasty is seen in the eyes.”

That’s why it fascinates him so much. Dr Swanepoel has super-specialised in this niche, from qualifying as an ear, nose and throat specialist. But within this very narrow specialisation, he does a wide variety of work. Apart from the plastic surgery, he also does reconstruction for those who have had accidents or some kind of trauma, and functional surgery for people with blocked sinuses or deformities. The three can also be combined. “It’s very challenging surgery – demanding, exacting and variable.”

It’s also half art, half technique and technology, says Dr Swanepoel. Like many plastic surgeons, he’s an artist too, and sculpts in clay, sometimes working with it to figure out how he’ll operate on a particular patient.

Plastic surgery is not the cure-all though, and patient and doctor need to know the limits. Michael Jackson’s first nose job was very good, “an excellent result”, says Dr Swanepoel. But Jackson wanted it perfect. “I always say perfection is the enemy of good, and now he’s gone well over the peak of the bell curve. As my uncle used to say, the worst disease a surgeon can suffer from is itchy fingers.”

It was his uncles who inspired him to become a surgeon when Dr Swanepoel was growing up on a farm between the tiny towns of Koster and Ventersdorp. “It seemed like magic to me that they could hear people’s hearts with a stethoscope, and that they could heal people. They’d sometimes throw a white cloth over my parent’s kitchen table, and operate on emergency cases like appendix or even Caesarians. I would hide underneath and peep at what was going on.

“One day, I’ll never forget. They caught me there, and my dad was going to take me out, but his eldest brother who was very stern, looked at me and said: “No, let him stay. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll become a doctor too.”

I darted discreet looks at Dr Swanepoel’s less than beautiful schnozz. Would he ever have his done, I asked. “Well, I know it needs some work,” he mused fingering it. “But there’s no one in this country I’d lie down for. There are maybe two in the States I’d consider, but otherwise no,” he said, eyes twinkling.

Did you know?

- Nose surgery began about 3 000 years ago, in response to the lopping off of noses in battle, or in India, because of infidelity. Surgeons would graft rolld up skin from the forehead onto the gaping wound.

- Noses have 240 anatomical variations.

- Twenty years ago, a nose job would have cost the same as a small house. Now they’ll set you back about R12 000.

- Before an operation, avoid pain pills, curries, chillies and arnica. They all thin the blood and cause excessive bleeding and bruising. Arnica should only be used afterwards.

For more information on The Nose Clinic, visit www.newnose.co.za or call

(012)807-1147

There is often some confusion about these terms, as different people and websites use them differently. Here’s how they should be used.

• Plastic Surgery – is the over-arching term, including the other two

• Reconstructive Surgery – is done for functional reasons on abnormal body structures which have resulted from congenital or developmental defects, trauma or disease

• Cosmetic Surgery – is done for esthetic reasons on normal body structures, to improve or enhance a person’s attractiveness, and it might also address minor function issues in the process

Basic Training

To perform reconstructive or cosmetic surgery, a physician must be qualified as a plastic surgeon. That means a minimum of:

1. Graduation from medical school

2. Licensing by a State Licensing Board

Legally speaking, nothing more is necessary, but you would not want to entrust your health to a physician who had no more qualification than that. Board-certification is highly important in assuring you that the doctor has gone further in his specialty training.

Specialty Training

So you would want to look for a surgeon who is:

3. Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) This is one of 24 accredited specialty boards recognized by the American board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).

Professional Memberships

The best plastic surgeons also have memberships in other medical organizations such as:

• The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

• The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS)

• The American College of Surgeons (ACS)

• The American Medical Association (AMA)

These memberships keep a physician in touch with his peers, and up to date with new ideas, techniques, and technology. They require high standards of their members.

Reconstructive Surgery

Reconstructive surgery is a very wide field and has subdivisions. It often works on children who are born with an abnormality such as a cleft palate, large disfiguring birthmark, or hand deformities.

Burn patients are another large category and often need reconstructive surgery where the entire skin and areas beneath it were destroyed. Accident victims may need replantation, which is the reattachment of a lost body part like fingers, ear, nose, arm or penis. Blood flow must be reconnected, the bones and muscles reattached, and nerves repaired.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) collects statistics each year, and for 2006, the most often performed reconstructive surgery was removal of cancerous tumors (3,905,831 such procedures). The procedure second in frequency, and very far behind, was laceration repair, at 312,855 procedures.

Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery is a growing field and involves enhancement or recontouring of the face and body, as well as a spectrum of skin treatments. The ASPS gives these surgical procedures as the top five for 2006:

• Breast augmentation (329,000) – implants to enlarge the breasts

• Rhinoplasty (307,000) – recontouring of the nose

• Liposuction (303,000) – removal of fat from selected body areas

• Eyelid surgery (233,000) – removal of excess fat, skin and muscle to restore youthfulness to the eyes

• Tummy Tuck (146,000) – removal of excess fat and skin from the abdomen, and tightening of the abdominal muscles

Skin improvement treatments are continually being developed, such as various chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and laser skin resurfacing. Injectable fillers are very popular, such as Restylane, Sculptra and Radiesse. Botox injections are often given to smooth out frown lines and forehead creases. These are all non-invasive procedures, as opposed to invasive (surgical) procedures, but modern cosmetic surgeons offer them all the time.

Plastic surgery Toronto is the branch of surgery which deals in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery on a variety of parts of the body, including skin, face, hands, and breasts, etc. Plastic surgery Toronto is used to repair, reconstruct, or replace the form and function of a body part by transfer of tissues. It can be a voluntarily elective decision as in case of a facelift, or medically necessary one to treat an injury caused by an accident or a disease.

Whatever the case may be but as it is a surgical procedure that changes your physical appearance, it’s very necessary to decide carefully on what place and doctors you choose for Plastic surgery Toronto. With a recent explosion of clinics offering plastic surgery Toronto, it is almost difficult to decide what is best it is important to inquire about your Surgeon’s credentials. It is always best to go for Board Certified Doctor. A physician who has successfully completed an ACGME-approved residency program or it’s equivalent in an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)-recognized specialty and has been certified by an ABMS member board.

At The Baywood Clinic, Dr. Kara is one of the leading Cosmetic Plastic Surgeons in Toronto,having competed a full five year Residency in Plastic Surgery Toronto at the University of Western Ontario, where he won the Gold Medal for Surgery. He has over 15 years of clinical experience in all of the latest cosmetic surgical techniques, and an excellent safety and patient satisfaction record. All procedures are performed to the highest possible standards, in a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario approved surgical suite, and with Board certified Anesthetists and Registered Surgical Nurses.

The bay wood Clinic offers a variety of options to cater to your needs for Plastic surgery Toronto. Our services include:

Breast augmentation (24 Hour recovery),

Face lift (improves the visible signs of aging by removing excess fat, and tightening muscles and skin.)

Brow lifts (a surgical procedure to make you more youthful & refreshed),

Tummy tucks (to make your abdomen significantly smaller and skin tighter),

Eye rejuvenation (remove fat or skin from above and below the eyes.

Laser Clinic(used to minimize the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and scars),

Botox (reduces wrinkles from age) and more options for plastic surgery Toronto.

Getting a plastic surgery Toronto done with all your expectations and dreams fulfilled is now easier than you had ever thought. To schedule a consultation or to make an inquiry, call us at 416.515.0007.

In some cases, reconstructive plastic surgery may be covered by the patient’s medical insurance. Getting a cosmetic plastic surgery however may be a procedure that you have to finance yourself using a loan.

Now, there are already several options for people who can’t afford a cosmetic surgery. Before we look into those options, let’s take a look at what else you should know about financing plastic surgery.

Don’t Go for Bargains

You may be tempted to pick a surgeon who asks for less if you do not have clear options for financing plastic surgery. This is however, the worst possible mistake you could ever make. Plastic surgery costs are usually steeper if the surgeon who will conduct the procedure is already seasoned and an undisputed expert. An expensive doctor however is also more likely to be a safer option and eventually a more cost effective one. Cheap doctors may also have cheap services that may result in more financing plastic surgery problems because you would have to pay for corrective surgery on a botched up work.

Costs and Plans Vary

The extent of work to be performed, the type of procedure and the region you belong to are also some of the other factors that affect the cost of plastic surgery. Doctors and clinics will also therefore have different payments schemes or offers for financing plastic surgery. You would have to discuss this aspect as extensively as the procedure itself. Be warned that there may also be hidden costs or miscellaneous fees that you may not have asked about and may not be included in offers for financing plastic surgery.

No Plan Scheme

Some clinics and plastic surgeons don’t allow financing plastic surgery or will not allow you to present loan or installment plans. Some patients may not immediately realize it but such a policy may be as much for the patient’s advantage as it is theirs. This is because such a strict policy will ensure that a patient can truly afford the procedure and its corresponding after surgery costs.

Some clinics will even ask for a complete payment before a procedure to secure patient assurance. This may be potentially dangerous though especially if accidents happen.

Finance Companies and Banks

Now, there are already several finance companies and banks that provide options for financing the procedure. Individuals can now fill up forms for approval to cover cosmetic plastic surgery. Most companies will tell you that they have affordable and flexible rates but the truth is that applying for a loan may be a little more difficult than imagined especially in banks.

Plastic surgery loans are actually unsecured by collateral. This means that a bank or company may have to meticulously investigate your credit history and report to find out if you are capable of paying. Even if you do pass an application for financing plastic surgery, some companies may have higher interest rates than others simply because it is their only security if you are suddenly unable to pay.

Plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery is quite a topic that has gotten so much attention over the years. Perhaps more attention due to the controversy involved in having some work done. More and more people have gotten plastic surgery over the last few years and more and more people have spun conceptions either for or against it. Although there is nothing illegal about undergoing an operation to enhance certain things, many people seem to rally against it.

My body my choice

Perhaps one of the main reasons why people go against plastic surgery is because it is not natural.  It is still considered taboo to have certain parts of your body surgically altered to become better of course on the person’s perspective. There is still a pretty conservative school of thought that tries to convince people to be happy with what they have and be comfortable in their own skin, which is not a bad argument at the very least. Also there has been a growing concern as to how many people have gone under the knife especially since a large amount of these people are very young. It then shifts the argument from what is proper from taboo to how much freedom a person can actually exercise in making decisions affecting their bodies.

Crucial plastic surgery

Although unpopular in most public forums there are a significant amount of cases where plastic surgery is a necessity for a patient to become able to live normal lives. In the areas of prosthetics and reconstructive surgery, plastic surgery is far from taboo as it becomes a solution for people who have lost limbs or suffered disfiguring ailments to lead normal lives. People who suffered from accidents depend on these medical solutions to overcome the problems brought about by the aftermath of their accidents. There are thousands of testimonies that support how much of a life changing experience plastic surgery has become.

The middle ground

There are some undeniable reasons why people should get plastic surgery as there are reasons for people not to. Of course for those who unfortunately encountered accidents the choice is pretty obvious and anyone in the said situation wouldn’t think twice about getting it. The argument for or against surgery lies on the end user; it is whether that person really needs the enhancement or not. Although there is no way to censor someone from deciding to get plastic surgery, it must be stressed that a significant amount of thought is put into it before committing. Consultations with doctors and family members can help people decide the best way to go about decision making and it is strongly advised to do so.

There are also dangers of getting shady plastic surgeons who may case more harm than good so it is important that credentials are checked before going through any type of surgery. Get the best surgeon you can find as your life would be in his hand. People may choose to get plastic surgery for either necessity or luxury, both are legal and both respect an individuals right to live their lives the way they want it is just important to set aside some time for proper thought before making major decisions such as this.

Between 2000 and 2006, when the housing meltdown began, Atlanta was the fastest growing city in the nation. It has grown from an important regional transit and manufacturing center into a global player. It is the ninth largest metro area in the nation, with a half million city residents and ten times that number living in the city and its suburbs.

That implies several things with regard to considering Atlanta as a good choice to find the right cosmetic plastic surgeon. Atlanta has a unique position in the Southeast, in the sense that it has for years felt like a cosmopolitan area built for business. Many residents are from elsewhere; it has lost much of its southern provinciality. Here’s what we see as special aspects of Atlanta and its cosmetic surgeons.

It’s a wealthy city, struggling with rapid growth that is based on solid business growth. It is drawing well educated young people and convincing established professionals to relocate. That sort of social dynamic means that services in general are going to be of high caliber, and that includes medical services.

The Atlanta Medical Center is a top flight multi-dimensional facility with a 460 bed hospital and several ancillary clinics. Summit has a swarm of clinics scattered through the area. Emory University established a Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at its medical school in 1971.

The Georgia Society of Plastic Surgeons was also founded in 1971 – its members are principally in and around the Atlanta area. The quality of cosmetic surgery practiced there is such that Atlanta has become something of a destination site for people seeking quality plastic surgeons. Several surgeons’ websites have information on nearby hotels, restaurants and civic attractions. You don’t see that in many cities.

The manner in which Atlanta’s plastic surgeons present themselves via their internet presence is different in a couple of other ways. Several doctors stress the importance of counseling and lead their comments on the issue by reviewing the limits of cosmetic surgical procedures. Others feature their roles in community issues such as breast cancer; there is more than one women’s medical clinic in the city.

Post-operative care is also prominent in many of the plastic surgery websites. These articles include discussions of post-op pain the options for dealing with it; the importance of following medical advice on recovery practices; and the fact that cosmetic surgery is still surgery. Many of these surgeons attempt to limit expectations to what is real and feasible.

Board certification seems to be a given. Not a single doctor with an established website failed to list his or her certification, education and practice experience. These descriptions established credibility, rather than promises and bombast.

Find information about all types of plastic cosmetic surgery procedures including breast implants, breast augmentation, face lifts, and liposuction. A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Resource.com is the place to locate a Plastic Surgeon Atlanta.

Have you met with an accident? Has any of your body part broken by some odd situation or due to some abnormal posture? Are you facing a subtle physical deformity? If that subtle deformity caused by some accident or other odd situations is not cured by simple medications, modern medicine has a fantastic option to bail you out from your immense sufferings. This bail out is popularly known as cosmetic surgery.

As the word suggests, cosmetic surgery liverpool has to do with your appearance and looks. It is executed to improve the appearance of those parts of your body which are not properly aligned or deformed.

Cosmetic surgery became very popular after the World War I as there was an increasing need to restore the damaged body parts of the soldiers. However, it is not only about correcting or improving the abnormal, injured or deformed body part, but it can very well be used to improve even relatively normal body part.

Under this overarching term of cosmetic surgery, there are various surgeries by plastic surgeons liverpool such as reconstructive surgery for a patient after having burns, or other physical trauma. It can also stand for a surgery that smoothes out wrinkles, enlarges breast, or reshapes a nose. It can also be performed to remove an unattractive birth mark across the face.

Some of the more popular forms of plastic surgery are liposuction, in which excessive fat is squeezed out of the body with a tube and vacuum device.

Another is laser facial resurfacing, which smoothes lines on the face around the eyes and mouth and eliminates facial blemishes.

Facelift surgery pulls back the skin around the face, jowls and neck through plastic surgery. Breast enlargement, enhances the size of the breast using saline implants; and hair replacement surgery, which fills in balding areas using a patient’s own hair. There are many more forms of cosmetic surgery, including variations of these.

Many people think of cosmetic procedures like face lifts and tummy tucks when they think of plastic surgery. But plastic surgery goes well beyond cosmetic procedures. Plastic surgery procedures can include procedures such as, repair of birth defects such as a cleft lip, repairing damage done by burns, and repairing effects of injuries or illnesses that result in disfigurement.

In the U.S., plastic surgery specialization involves four years of training beyond medical school. Plastic surgeons sometimes do not get the respect that other medical specialties (like heart surgeons) have, but that is because many people don’t realize that plastic surgeons are involved in much more than making people look younger or prettier. They are also involved in repairing disfigurement from accidents or illnesses. In fact, some plastic surgeons don’t get into cosmetic procedures much, if at all.

Plastic surgeons sometimes do specialize in cosmetic procedures, and sometimes they specialize even more, perhaps concentrating on facial surgery or breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Board certified plastic surgeons with experience in cosmetic surgery are usually good choices for patients looking to have cosmetic procedures, particularly the more major types like face lifts and tummy tucks.

When it comes to minimally invasive cosmetic techniques like Botox and soft tissue fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm, any licensed physician can set up shop providing these procedures. It’s a very lucrative business: quick, fairly expensive, and insurance companies aren’t involved. However, getting these procedures done by someone other than a plastic cosmetic surgeon or a dermatologist can be risky.

Plastic surgery is definitely a lucrative career, particularly in times like these where cosmetic procedures are so common. But it is also much more than that. When a burn patient has successful skin grafts, or when a mastectomy patient has reconstructive surgery that allows her to get back to her normal activities, there is usually a very skilled plastic surgeon to thank for it.