Plastic surgery

Plastic surgery is the general term for all kinds of surgery which is done for aesthetic reasons, rather than to heal an illness or to help the body function better (or at all).

The two principal applications for plastic surgery are:

• reconstructive surgery, which tries to undo or mask the destructive effects of an accident or illness
• cosmetic surgery, which is done purely to change features the patient does not like for personal reasons

Common cases of reconstructive surgery are breast reconstruction for women who have had a mastectomy and facial surgery for burn victims. The most popular operations in cosmetic surgery are probably face lifting[?] and liposuction.

Many people take a dim view of cosmetic surgery, as they see it as frivolous. It does at any rate involve some risk (like any operation) and should therefore not be undertaken lightly. Within the US, critics of plastic surgery have noted that it is legal for any doctor (regardless of speciality) to perform plastic surgery; a practice which, critics argue, leads to poorly performed surgery.

See also: Body modification, Breast implant