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Cosmetic Surgery vs Plastic Surgery: What’s The Difference?

30th January 2018
Jayne McIntosh - Director - Air Aesthetics and Wellness Clinics
Jayne McIntosh

Cosmetic Surgery vs Plastic Surgery: The Differences

It is very easy to get confused when talking about cosmetic surgery vs plastic surgery. Of course, there are a number of plastic surgeons who have chosen to focus on cosmetic surgery. That’s why many people keep using the two terms interchangeably. There is, however, a very big difference between the two. Cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery might be closely-related but that doesn’t make them one and the same thing. It is because of the following reasons:

Surgeries have different goals

It is true that both cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery are geared towards improving a patient’s body. However, the philosophies behind the research, training, goals of these procedures are very different.

The focus of cosmetic surgery is to enhance the patient’s appearance. It employs techniques such as wrinkle injections and face tightening to make a patient look better than when they came in. the key goals include improving proportion, symmetry, and aesthetic appeal. Although concentrated on the face, it can be performed anywhere on the head, neck, and the entire body. Cosmetic surgery is done on areas which are already functioning properly. Whether you do it or not is, therefore, up to you. Some of the most common cosmetic surgery procedures include the following:

  • Breast enhancement through reduction, lifting, and reduction.
  • Facial contouring through chin or cheek enhancement and rhinoplasty.
  • Facial rejuvenation through face lifting, brow lifting, neck lifting, and eyelid lifting.
  • Body contouring such as tummy tuck, gynecomastia treatment, and liposuction.
  • Skin rejuvenation through a anti-wrinkle injections clinic, injections for wrinkles, and laser resurfacing.

Plastic surgery, on the other hand, is geared towards repairing defects and reconstructing a normal appearance and function. Through this procedure, body defects due to disease, trauma, burns, and birth disorders can be corrected. As a reconstructive procedure, plastic surgery is meant to enhance the functionality of certain areas of the body. Some plastic surgery procedures include the following:

  • Burn repair surgery
  • Breast reconstruction
  • Hand surgery
  • Scar revision surgery
  • Lower extremity reconstruction
  • Repair or congenital defects such as cleft palates

Different modes of training

For a physician to become a plastic surgeon, they must go through a general surgery residency and an additional two years of plastic surgery training. As part of their training, plastic surgeons may undergo an aspect of cosmetic surgery. That doesn’t, however, mean that they are taught all there is to know about cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery training, on the other hand, is done soon after finishing residency training. All one has to do is a post-residency fellowship. That’s when one learns how to do wrinkle injections  and face tightening.

Cosmetic Surgery vs Plastic Surgery: What’s The Difference?

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