According the The American Board of Plastic Surgery’s website:
“ Plastic surgery deals with the repair, reconstruction, or replacement of physical defects of form or function involving the skin, musculoskeletal system, craniomaxillofacial structures, hand, extremities, breast and trunk, external genitalia or cosmetic enhancement of these areas of the body… The plastic surgeon uses cosmetic surgical principles both to improve overall appearance and to optimize the outcome of reconstructive procedures. Special knowledge and skill in the design and surgery of grafts, flaps, free tissue transfer and replantation is necessary… Anatomy, physiology, pathology, and other basic sciences are fundamental to the specialty… Competency in plastic surgery implies an amalgam of basic medical and surgical knowledge, operative judgment, technical expertise, ethical behavior, and interpersonal skills to achieve problem resolution and patient satisfaction.”
Cosmetic vs. Reconstructive
There are two main types of plastic surgery: cosmetic plastic surgery and reconstructive plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery seeks to improve the patient’s features on a purely aesthetic level, in the absence of any actual deformity or trauma. On the other hand, the purpose of reconstructive surgery is to correct any physical feature which is grossly deformed or abnormal by accepted standards---either as the result of a birth defect, congenital disorder, illness, or trauma. Often, reconstructive surgery addresses not only a deformed appearance, but also seeks to correct or improve some deficiency or abnormality in the function of the body part in question.
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