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The principal areas of plastic surgery include two broad fields.

• Reconstructive surgery, including microsurgery , which focuses on undoing or masking the destructive effects of trauma, surgery or disease. Such plastic surgery may include closing defects by transplantion of tissue from other parts of the body.
• Cosmetic (or aesthetic) surgery, which most is often done to change features the patient finds unflattering. In a few cases, however, there may be medical reasons (for example, breast reduction when orthopedic problems are present).

1 History

The history of cosmetic surgery spans back to the ancient world. The Romans were able to perform simple techniques such as repairing damaged ears. In the Middle Ages, there were techniques to restore a severed nose by attaching the arm to the face and letting a blood supply form then removing the arm from the new nose. Nevertheless, it was not until modern times that its use became commonplace.

2 Reconstructive surgery

Common cases of reconstructive surgery are breast reconstruction for women who have had a mastectomy, facial- and contracture surgery for burn victims, closing skin- or mucosa defects after removal of tumors in the head and neck region.

There is a definite gray area between plastic and cosmetic surgery. For instance a bat ear correction is not considered cosmetic surgery, however, this is not a debilitating or dangerous condition.

3 Cosmetic surgery

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. In addition, there is increasing concern about cosmetic surgeries not done in the United States, specially Liposuctions performed at the Dominican Republic: while that type of surgery there is considerably cheaper, six women were reported in 2004 to have returned to the United States from the Dominican Republic with an infection after having liposuctions there, and, in 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap, a Puerto RicanPuerto Rican can refer to anybody who was born in or whose ancestors are from Puerto Rico. It can also refer to something from Puerto Rico, such as " Puerto Rican Rum". It should be noted that even though Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States an woman died, in a very widely publicized case by Puerto Rican newspapers, after contracting an infection during liposuction surgery, also in the Dominican Republic.

Despite criticism, cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular as less expensive and better techniques are being developed. There are numerous types of cosmetic surgery that can be performed. The most prevalent are listed below. Most of these types of surgery are more commonly known by their "common names." These are also listed when pertinent.

• AbdominoplastyAbdominoplasty or "tummy tuck" is a cosmetic surgery procedure to reshape and firm the abdomen. It involves the removal of excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen in order to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall. This type of surgery is (or "tummy tuck"): reshaping and firming of the abdomenThe abdomen (from the Latin word meaning "belly") is the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax. The front of the abdomen is the abdominal cavity, which is separated from the thoracic cavity by the diaphragm. The lining of the abdomen is calle
• Blepharoplasty (or "eyelid surgery"): Reshaping of the eyelids or the application of permanent eyeliner, including Asian blepharoplastyAsian blepharoplasty is a type of plastic surgery where the skin around the eyes is reshaped. It is frequently used in Asian populations to remove the epicanthal fold, usually to look more 'Western'. See also Race External links surgery.
• Augmentation MammaplastyTopics relating to transitioning A breast implant is a technique used in cosmetic surgery to increase the size of one's breasts or to reconstruct the breast (for example, after a mastectomy). There are three types of breast implants: Saline-filled which h (or "breast enlargement" or "boob job"): Augmentation of the breastmilk to feed infants. The term breasts can refer to the upper ventral region of the human torso. Alternatively the term is used for each of two parts of that, especially for women: the breasts are parts of the female human body that contain the organs thas
• Chemical peel : Removal of acneAcne is an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaseous units(skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland). The most common form of acne is known as acne vulgaris which means common acne. scars and sagging skin—not technically surgery and can be performed by a cosmetologist
• Mastopexy (or "breast lift"): Raising of sagging breasts
• Rhinoplasty (or "nose job"): Reshaping of the nose
• Rhytidectomy (or "face lift"): Removal of wrinkles and signs of aging from the face
• Suction-Assisted Lipectomy (or liposuction): Removal of fat from the body
• Circumcision: Removal of the foreskin of the penis, esp. without any diagnosis
• Chin augmentation : Augmentation of the chin with an implant (e.g. silicone) or by sliding genioplasty of the jawbone.