Plastic surgery as a speciality aims to restore and reconstruct various external and internal body parts to improve appearance and functioning. Till two decades back, Plastic Surgery was perceived as an aesthetic or a cosmetic procedure, but the current medical world views it as a specialty that can improve the quality of life and boost the confidence of patients who have survived life-threatening conditions.

Plastic surgery has emerged as one of the core surgical specialities in recent times, and it is now classified into two main categories:

• Reconstructive Surgery
• Cosmetic Surgery

Plastic surgery procedures can involve invasive and minimally invasive interventions on any body part except the brain and spinal cord.

What Is Reconstructive Plastic Surgery?

Reconstructive Plastic Surgery is a broader area that deals with the abnormal structures and deformities caused by:

• Accident or trauma
• Acute infections
• Tumours (Breast reconstruction, colon reconstruction)
• Developmental abnormalities
• Congenital deformities like cleft palate, cleft lip
• Burn injuries
• Maxillofacial surgeries

What Conditions Are Treated with Reconstructive Plastic Surgery?

• Breast Reconstruction in the case of breast cancer survivors under total or partial mastectomy.
• Breast reduction or mammoplasty.
• Limb Salvage surgery in patients who require limb amputation owing to medical conditions like severe diabetes and tumor growth.
• Facial reconstruction and jaw straightening in patients who survived tumour in the jawline
• Cleft lip and palate repair
• Gender confirmation surgeries
• Deformed ears in conditions like microtia and bat ears
• Hand defects like loss of fingers, fused and extra fingers
• Functional impairments caused due to burns

What Is Cosmetic Surgery?

Also known as Aesthetic Surgery, it forms the main part of plastic surgery, which restructures the facial and body features to change the appearance and to look more appealing.