Cosmetic Surgery :: Plastic Surgery – Cosmetic Surgery

Plastic Surgery is the surgical specialty or procedure concerned with the restoration, construction, reconstruction, or improvement in the shape and appearance of body structures that are missing, defective, damaged, or misshapen.

The word “plastic” comes from the Greek word plastikos, meaning “to mold or shape.” Many of the first plastic surgeries were developed to close a difficult wound or replace tissue lost due to injury or cancer. These procedures often involved the formation of a skin flap to reshape or mold the defect so as to approximate the original shape.

Plastic surgery may be one of the world’s oldest healing arts.

In fact, written evidence cites medical treatment for facial injuries more than 4,000 years ago. Physicians in ancient India were utilizing skin grafts for reconstructive work as early as 800 B.C.

America’s first plastic surgeon of note was Dr. John Peter Mettauer, who was born in Virginia in 1787. The colorful Dr. Mettauer performed the first cleft palate operation in the New World in 1827 with instruments he designed himself.

Now, Plastic Surgery is a very lucrative career option. The clientele includes teenagers and young women who want to get rid of problems like birthmarks and scars; older women who want to get rid of sagging waistline caused due to pregnancy etc.

Over the last two decades, cosmetic surgery has established itself as a major subspeciality of plastic surgery.


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