Plastic Surgery VS Cosmetic Surgery

Whenever opting to undergo a surgery, the most confusing factor is to decide between Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery. In general, people use these two words interchangeably but technically, they are completely different. Therefore, any patient who is planning for the surgery must understand the difference between Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery at first. The information here will help you out. 

Plastic Surgery is an umbrella term under which these two categories fall. 

• The first one is Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
• The other one is Cosmetic Surgery

Although both types of surgeries deal with improving the patients’ body, the goals, focus, safety and training & skills of the surgeon are poles apart.

The goals & focus of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery

Usually, Plastic Surgery focuses upon reconstructing or repairing the function & symmetry of body parts. It is defined as a surgical specialty that corrects the defects to restore the normal functions of the body parts and provide the natural appearance. It involves reconstruction of the entire facial and body flaws occurring due to birth disorders, burns, diseases and trauma. The ultimate goal of plastic surgery is to reconstruct and enable dysfunctional body parts to function in their normal and natural mode.

The Plastic surgery procedures include:-

• Burn Repair Surgery
• Cleft Palate
• Breast Reconstruction
• Trauma Surgery
• Hand Surgery
• Scar Revision Surgery
• Lower Extremity Reconstruction

Plastic Reconstructive Surgeries get complete medical insurance cover, as these are not the choices but performed to get away with the health issues faced by the patient.

The goals & focus of Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery serves the sole focus of improving patients’ physical appearance but medically, it is not necessary. It tends the surgeons to work on fulfilling the aesthetic goals of their clients. Cosmetic surgery is instrumental in improving the proportion, shape, size and symmetry of the body parts. 

Surgeons perform it on all areas of the body including head and neck to help people get a comparably better body appearance. It eliminates the doubts and fears of the patients about their looks and enhances their self-esteem. However, be aware that it has nothing to do with the functioning of body parts.

The cosmetic surgery procedures include:-

• Breast Enhancement: Breast Augmentation, Reduction and Breast Lift
• Facial Contouring: Rhinoplasty, Chin and Cheek Enhancement 
• Body Contouring: Liposuction, Abdominoplasty, and Gynecomastia
• Facial Rejuvenation: Facelift, Brow Lift, Eyelid Lift and Neck lift
• Skin Rejuvenation: Laser Resurfacing, Botox and Filler treatments

Generally, Cosmetic Surgeries do not get medical Insurance cover as these are performed to achieve a better overall appearance only.

Training & Skills of Board Certified Surgeons

The education, training, experience and knowledge that a plastic surgeon requires to become a board certified surgeon is completely different from what a cosmetic surgeon requires. The most authentic way to choose a plastic or cosmetic surgeon is to know about their board certification. 

The American Board of Plastic Surgery is the only board acknowledged and approved by the National Board of Medical Specialties. That means members certified by the board are held to the highest standards as it pertains to skills, knowledge, judgments, safety and ethics in that particular specialty. 

If your chosen surgeon is board-certified then you can be rest assured that the doctor has 

• Passed rigorous exams
• Completed the necessary training, and 
• Owns the experience and expertise needed to perform the surgery safely

Here, it is important to note that:

• The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the major society certifying plastic surgeons.
• The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) certifies surgeons exclusively in cosmetic surgery.

The Board-certified plastic surgeons have completed at least six to eight years credentials training program. Cosmetic may be a part of their program but not a complete set. Each board-certified cosmetic surgeon has completed 1 year fellowship training exclusively in cosmetic surgery. During this fellowship, they get thorough training in all cosmetic surgery procedures and have to perform a minimum of 300 individual cosmetic surgery procedures. 

Unfortunately, many general physicians perform cosmetic surgery because any licensed physician can legally perform cosmetic surgery regardless of how they have received cosmetic surgery training. These doctors may offer a few cosmetic options, but they may not give patients all of the options or may be not able to handle complications. 

If they can only do one or few procedures, they will rarely give you the choices based on your anatomy and specific desires & needs. Instead their recommendations will rely heavily on what they can offer which is extremely unfair for the patients. 

Therefore, your choice of surgeon should depend upon the due board certification of the surgeons, as it will affect the surgery results appreciably.

Conclusion

It is important to make your vision more clear about the type of surgery you are looking for, whether plastic or cosmetic surgery. People might be using both these terms interchangeably, but in reality, they are different. Moving over, the kind of surgeon you should choose to perform that plastic or cosmetic surgery for your better health and better overall appearance is equally important.