Plastic Surgery

Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery is a discipline consisting of three different surgical branches that serve different purposes. The word plastic means “shaping” in Greek whereas reconstructive surgery means surgical repair and reformation. And, aesthetic surgery serves the purpose of more beautiful and coherent appearance.

Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery

1. What Is Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery?
2. Which Subbranches Are There within Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery? 
3. What Is The Difference Between Plastic, Reconstructive Surgery and Aesthetic Surgery?
4. Which Treatments Does Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Provide?
5. Which Diseases Does Plastic Reconstructive Surgery Treat? 
6. Which Diseases Does Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Surgery Treat?

What Is Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery? 

Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery is a discipline consisting of three different surgical branches that serve different purposes.The word plastic means “shaping” in Greek whereas reconstructive surgery means surgical repair and reformation. And aesthetic surgery serves the purpose of more beautiful and coherent appearance.

The plastic and reconstructive surgery is a surgical branch aiming to improve deformity caused by congenital or acquired abnormalities and coherently reshape the body image.

The plastic and reconstructive surgery concerns with all kinds of defects effecting cutaneous, subcutaneous tissues and bones all over the body.While doing so, the basic principle is to repair the missing tissues with other tissues similar to the missing ones.

The plastic surgery is a fundamental medical branch aiming to repair tissues and treat malfunction and deformities.

The reconstructive surgery concerns with reconstruction of poorly affected tissues with other tissues pretending as previous or normal location or shape, and repair of all kinds of congenital or acquired tissue and organ loss effecting cutaneous, subcutaneous tissues and bones all over the body.

The aesthetic surgery, on the other hand, is the correction and reshaping of the tissues cosmetically and medically causing dissatisfaction. It involves the surgeries and interventions performed to beautify and perfect the facial and body appearance even more. In this regard, the basic aim is beauty and aesthetic concerns rather than a medical problem.

Which Subbranches Are There within Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery?

Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Surgery:

The aesthetic surgery basically includes all aesthetic (cosmetic) interventions performed on face and body rather than a medical problem. It is performed to increase aesthetic appeal in a specific part of face or body, and proportion it with other parts of the body. Providing healthy, custom and natural sense of beauty is the fundamental principle.

Microsurgery:

This is a surgery performed under the surgical microscope using special microsurgery tools. Reattaching the severed hand, foot or other tissues (replantation) can be achieved thanks to this surgical technique. Function of the severed organ is reactivated with reattaching the small vessels and nerves. Moreover, tissue transfer is possible for the defect area. Nowadays, thin vessels and nerves measuring up to 0.5 mm can be reattached.

Maxillofacial Surgery:

It deals with the repair of bones in facial area.

For example: Alignment of jawbone (orthognathic surgery), facial bone fractures, congenital clefts.

Craniofacial Surgery:

It concerns with the correction of congenital or acquired abnormalities and deformities in cranial bones. This branch is divided into two; pediatric and adult craniofacial surgery.

• The pediatric craniofacial surgery mainly includes the correction of congenital abnormalities in head-face bones and soft tissues (cleft lip-palate, skull deformities) along with pediatric facial injuries.
• The adult craniofacial surgery, on the other hand, deals with the repair and reconstruction of acquired traumatic injuries.

Hand Surgery:

Correction of traumatic defects in hands (laceration, contusion, avulsion), shape, function and congenital deformities (finger abnormalities, syndactyly, polydactyly, cleft hand, deformed hand etc.), repair of tendons and nerves, treatment of hand tumors and hand burns are possible thanks to the hand surgery.

Endoscopic Surgery:

This method involves the surgeries performed with an endoscope without making larger incisions. With the help of the endoscope, face and brow lifting, breast prosthesis placement and neurovascular surgeries have become possible.

What Is the Difference Between Plastic, Reconstructive Surgery and Aesthetic Surgery? 

The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery mainly concerns with health-associated vital functions whereas the Aesthetic Surgery aims to improve physical appearance of the individuals in terms of its techniques and principles.

Which Treatments Does Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Provide?

 Aesthetic Surgery

• Rhinoplasty
• Otoplasty
• Liposuction
• Breast augmentation
• Reduction mammaplasty
• Breast lifting
• Gynecomastia Surgery
• Abdominoplasty
• Blepharoplasty
• Face lifting and facial aesthetic
• Brow and temporal lifting
• Chin augmentation/reduction
• Fat injection
• Labioplasty
• Lip augmentation
• Dermabrasion
• Arm, leg and body aesthetic
• Eye contour aesthetic
• Brow lifting
• Hair transplant
• Neck lifting
• Genital aesthetic

Reconstructive Surgery

• Breast reconstruction
• Repair of cleft palate and lip
• Congenital abnormalities
• Sequels of burn
• Skin tumors and treatment
• Facial trauma
• Hand surgery
• Skin defects

Nonsurgical Procedures

• Filling
• Botox treatment
• Wrinkle treatment
• Labioplasty

Which Diseases Does Plastic Reconstructive Surgery Treat?

The diseases that the Plastic Reconstructive Surgery treats are listed below:

• Absence of external ear, jug ear and other deformities
• Nasal defects, tumors and avulsions
• Facial deformity, asymmetry, congenital masses, rare facial clefts
• Bone and soft tissue traumas of face
• Absence of breast, asymmetry or excess breast tissue
• Post-cancer breast reconstruction
• Gynecomastia (abnormal enlargement of breasts in men)
• Congenital abnormalities of genital organs
• Repair of genital organs, replantation of severed organs
• Cleft lip-palate
• Craniofacial-maxillofacial abnormalities, deformities, irregularities and absence of jaw, face and head bones
• Orthognathic surgery, jaw movement disorders
• Salivary gland problems
• Congenital tumor, nevus, mass, vascular malformations, hemangioma
• Maxillofacial surgery, traffic accident, bone defects, fractures, deformity and malfunction secondary to tumor and other conditions
• Head-neck tumors and repair of their defects
• Defects of chest and abdominal wall
• Hand surgery, trauma, tumor, finger transfer, finger repair and lengthening
• Absence and deformities of hands and feet
• Peripheral nerve problems, traumas, neuropathy, defects, masses
• Skin and soft tissue tumors
• Acute burn and post-burn deformities, contractions, shrinkages, damages of electrical and chemical substances on soft tissues
• Cutaneous and subcutaneous injuries secondary to various infections, radiation and other effects
• Chronic injuries (pressure sore, venous wounds, diabetic foot ulcer)

Which Diseases Does Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Surgery Treat?

The diseases that the Aesthetic Surgery treats are listed below:

• Aesthetic and functional nasal-nasal tip correction (rhinoplasty, nasal tip plasty, septorhinoplasty)
• Facial rejuvenation (face lifting, eyelid and circumoral revisions, wrinkle treatment)
• Endoscopic face-brow lifting
• Eyelid aesthetic (blepharoplasty)
• Correction of jug ear and other aesthetic problems in external ear
• Chin augmentation and reduction operations (mentoplasty)
• Removal of acne scar and irregularities from the skin
• Hair transplant-replacement
• Laser application, skin peeling, improvement of body blemishes and vascular malformations
• Aesthetic breast operations: Breast augmentation, reduction mammaplasty and breast lifting
• Operations aiming to reduce excess cutaneous-subcutaneous fat tissue (liposuction-lipectomy)
• Abdominoplasty
• Body contouring operations such as arm and thigh lifting, contour correction
• Contour corrections with prosthesis placed in soft tissue (hip and thigh implants, pectoral [breast] implants in men)
• Various skin cares and interventions