What is the most common type of plastic surgery?
What is cosmetic plastic surgery?
Cosmetic plastic surgery is done to change your appearance. For some, it may mean redesigning the body’s contour and shape, smoothing wrinkles, or eliminating balding areas. Others may choose varicose vein treatment or breast augmentation. There are a number of cosmetic surgery procedures that men and women can choose from to create an image that makes them feel more confident and comfortable with their appearance.
Although health insurance rarely covers the cost of cosmetic procedures, the number of people deciding to have cosmetic plastic surgery continues to grow. The top cosmetic surgeries are breast augmentation, liposuction, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, tummy tuck, and facelift.
Most common types of plastic surgery — top trending procedures
The most common types of plastic surgery include breast augmentation, dermabrasion, face lift, hair transplant, rhinoplasty and more.
Breast Augmentation
Breast augmentation refers to a surgical procedure that aims at increasing the shape, fullness or size of the breast. The procedure typically involves using breast implants or fat transfer to increase the size of one’s breasts. Breast augmentation can also restore breast volume lost after pregnancy or weight reduction, improve breast size asymmetry or achieve a more rounded breast shape. Once you have this procedure done, be sure to following strict recovery tips from your surgeon to ensure you get the best results.
Dermabrasion
This is an exfoliating technique that uses a specialized tool to gently sand the outer layers of the skin, usually on the face. After dermabrasion, the area heals and the result is younger-looking smooth skin.
Dermabrasion is usually used for:
- Acne scars
- Wrinkles
- Sun-damaged skin
- Age spots
- Lesions or growths on the skin
- Crow’s feet
Facelift
A facelift is designed to give a more youthful facial appearance. The procedure involves lifting of facial tissues, removal of excess skin and replacing skin over repositioned contours. Facelifts repair drooping, sagging, wrinkled or loose skin on the face and are commonly done in conjunction with neck lifts. Procedures commonly done with facelifts include forehead lifts, eyelid surgery and nose reshaping.
Hair Transplantation
Also referred to as hair restoration, this is a surgical technique performed to improve the appearance of baldness. Hair follicles are removed from a part of the body with thick growth to a bald or balding area, often resulting in successful hair growth after the procedure. More than a thousand hairs may be removed in a single session and the hairs moved are permanent.
Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty refers to any surgical procedure that reshapes or repairs the nose. The procedure may be performed to change the appearance of the nose for cosmetic reasons or medical reasons such as correcting birth defects or difficulty in breathing.
Rhinoplasty can be used to:
- Change the shape of the bridge
- Increase or reduce the size of the nose
- Correct problems following an injury
- Correct birth defects
- Improve or relieve breathing problems
- Change the angle of the nose
- Narrow the shape of the nostrils
Liposuction
There are two types of liposuction, a surgical procedure that suctions fat from specific areas of the body to provide a slimmer and shapelier silhouette.
In tumescent liposuction, the most popular type, a solution of saline, a drug to constrict blood vessels and a numbing agent are infused into the area to be treated. This liquid, along with fat, is suctioned out of the body using small hollow metal instruments called cannulas. The infusion of liquid can cause short-term fluid retention that diminishes over the next few days.
In Ultrasonic-Assisted Liposuction (UAL), the cannula releases ultrasonic energy to melt fat so that it can be suctioned out of the body. UAL has more risks than tumescent liposuction, including the risk of internal and external burns and a lengthier surgery. The average patient is able to return to work within a few days, depending on the area(s) selected for the treatment.
Blepharoplasty
Eyelid reshaping surgery is can be done for cosmetic reasons or to improve vision in patients where the eyelids obstruct vision. Too much skin or sagging skin can cause vision to be impaired and contributes to the appearance of aging. Lower eyelids with chronic puffiness or wrinkling are often reduced during the procedure for a more youthful appearance. Fat pads under the eyes causing the appearance of “bags” are removed as necessary in the lower lid procedure. Most people can go out in public in 10 to 14 days, with swelling becoming less noticeable for weeks or months.
Abdominoplasty
Commonly known as a tummy tuck or a lower body lift, abdominoplasty removes excess skin from the abdominal area and tightens the skin that remains. This surgery is often performed on women who have excess skin after being pregnant or after losing significant weight after bariatric surgery. The ideal candidate does not have excess fat deposits in the abdomen to remove but too much skin hanging from the abdomen. Most patients are able to resume normal activities in two to three weeks but may have limits on physical activity for a longer period of time.
Breast Reduction
A woman’s breast reduction surgery is one of the few plastic surgeries that insurance does pay for routinely, as the benefits go far beyond an improved appearance. Women with very heavy or overly large breasts often have difficulty finding clothing that fits, experience chronic back pain and poor posture. Ideally, the surgery to reduce both the size and weight of the breasts will relieve back pain and improve posture. The surgery is a permanent solution to having disproportionate breasts and most patients return to work within two weeks.