Family Health: Plastic surgery can repair or enhance

When you hear the term plastic surgery, you may think of an actor with a new body shape or a gray-haired CEO with a youthful face. If so, youre not wrong plastic surgery is often done for aesthetic reasons. But that just touches on one part of the broad scope of this field. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 20 million plastic surgery procedures were done in the U.S. last year, to enhance appearance and also to restore normal function and appearance.

These differing objectives point to the two disciplines that fall under the umbrella term of plastic surgery. One is reconstructive surgery, which is done to correct defects from disease, congenital problems or injuries. For example, in 2012 more than 27,000 people had reconstructive surgery to repair damage from dog bites. Other reconstructive surgeries include:

Breast reconstruction after mastectomy or lumpectomy.

Breast reduction for women with significant adverse symptoms from heavy breasts.

Repair of congenital defects such as cleft lip or palate, webbed fingers or toes, and other conditions.

Laceration repair.

Scar revision to make scars less visible.

Hand surgeries for conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, nerve or tendon repairs, contractures and many injuries.

Wound management, including skin grafting and other therapies.

Burn care.

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Family Health: Plastic surgery can repair or enhance