Plastic surgery is the surgical speciality that aims to restore form and,or function in many areas of the body whether this is a result of birth,injury, disease or ageing. There is no clear demarcation between form and function and both can be considered two ends of the same scale. The restoration of form is intimately related to the aesthetic appearance of the feature.

Plastic Surgery can therefore be conveniently sub-divided into Reconstructive Surgery and Aesthetic/ Cosmetic Surgery. Reconstructive Surgery generally focuses on the restoration of form and function following birth defects,injury and disease. On the other hand,Cosmetic Surgery aims to restore the feature(s) to within a normal or average range. Contrary to the image in the popular press,Cosmetic Surgery should enhance the feature(s) and therefore look natural and not detract and result in an abnormal or unnatural appearance.

Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery

 

There again is no defining line separating Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery. It is impossible to obtain a very natural Breast Reconstruction without careful attention to the aesthetics of the breast. Likewise,it is very important to perform an accurate reconstruction in a cleft lip in order to achieve an excellent cosmetic outcome. Thus a really good Reconstructive surgeon maintains good aesthetic goals and similarly a really good Aesthetic surgeon utilises his/her expertise in reconstructive techniques to achieve excellent results.