Do you know what plastic surgery is and what it does to the body? Have you ever wondered why the surgery is called “plastic surgery”?
You are about to find out why it is called plastic surgery and what it does to the body in this article.
What is Plastic Surgery?
First, let us define what plastic surgery is and what it does to the body. Plastic surgery is a type of surgery that focuses on fixing any defects or changing a feature to change a person’s appearance.
To further elaborate, these are the purposes of plastic surgery:
- Reconstructing the face. Plastic surgery includes procedures that have a reconstructive purpose to a patient’s face or body. These reconstructive procedures would include physical birth defects like when a baby was born with a cleft lip and palates and ear deformities. Other procedures include fixing traumatic injuries like a dog bite or severe burns, or perhaps an aftermath of a previous surgery such as rebuilding a woman’s bosom after surgery for breast cancer.
- For cosmetic or aesthetic purposes. Plastic surgery also includes completely altering a part of the body that a person is unsatisfied with or wants to change. These common types of alterations in the body or face include reshaping the nose or also known as rhinoplasty, another one is to make breasts larger or also known as augmentation mammoplasty, or if a person wants to make their breasts smaller then it would be referred to as reduction mammoplasty. Another popular and common plastic surgery operation is the removing of fats from specific spots of the body which is called liposuction. Take note that there are actually some cosmetic procedures where it does not really include much of a notable change in the body or the appearance of a person because it could just involve stitching or cutting and the best example for this type of plastic surgery operation is the removal of unwanted hairs with the use of a special laser and sanding of skin to provide a remedy for severe scarring.
Why is Plastic Surgery Called Plastic?
The reason why plastic surgery is called “plastic” is that it was derived from a Greek word called “plastikos” which basically means to form or mold, and it was previously mentioned in the previous segment of the article is that plastic surgery is a surgical process that alters or changes the looks of a person. So, there you, folks, it is not named after a synthetic substance that we normally see and use in our daily lives.
Does Plastic Surgery Include the Use of Plastic?
To answer that question, no, plastic surgery does not use plastics or add plastic in order to change a person’s appearance. Plastic surgery uses silicone instead such as silicone for breast implants.
Another fact about plastic surgery is that it uses grafts. If we apply our knowledge about plant grafting for the promotion of newer plant parts growth, well it could also be done in people with the use of taking something from a patient’s body, for example, a patch of skin has to be taken from a body part of the patient in order to cover a severe burn. Another example of graft is ear cartilage. Grafting in a person can only be done only from a patient’s body part and not from the others or else it will be rejected by the patient’s body.
Some Facts About Plastic Surgery.
- Plastic surgery will not decrease the rate of the aging process. Once a patient recovers from plastic surgery, they will still continue to age, since plastic surgery has no business in slowing a person’s aging process. Only a person’s lifestyle could affect their aging.
- Plastic surgery leaves some scars so it is not scar-free. Most surgeries will leave scars in the body and plastic surgery is no exception. However, plastic surgeons have high skills in minimizing the appearance of a scar after a patient recovered from the surgery. The scarring would only look like it is a natural groove or crevice of the skin or it can sometimes be unnoticed.
- Plastic surgery does not have an age or gender boundary. Plastic surgery is mostly associated with women since they are the most common patients who have undergone plastic surgery. However, more men are actually getting plastic surgeries such as liposuction, gynecomastia, or the reduction of breast size in men, and some even get rhinoplasty. Plastic surgery is also not age-dependent but of course, children are an exception for this since they are still growing. Teenagers who got consent from their parents have undergone plastic surgery, and of course, the most common age groups are around 35-50 years of age.
Plastic surgery has already come a long way and it continuously flourishes through time which further improves with the help of new advanced technology.
The Bottomline
That is all, folks! Plastic surgery does not necessarily use plastic as a component in changing a person’s appearance since plastic is an extremely harmful substance for the body so silicone is most commonly used.
Plastic surgery is also safe however, it is still advised to consult your plastic surgeon before proceeding to the surgical process.
If you are looking forward to getting plastic surgery, do your due diligence and start educating yourself about the plastic surgery you are planning on getting by doing extensive research about what plastic surgeons do on that specific surgery, how long would the recovery take, what are the possible side effects after the surgery, and what are the ways to cope and heal from the surgery. In that way, educating yourself will make you feel prepared for plastic surgery because you must take note that plastic surgery is a big deal and it should be taken seriously since plastic surgery can also be associated with psychological or emotional factors such as coming to the acceptance of one’s appearance.
Make sure, to prepare yourself!