Plastic surgery (from “plastic”, Greek plastike téchne, “art formed by kneading, plastic”) is a surgery that deals, for functional, aesthetic or cosmetic reasons, with shape-changing or reconstructive surgery on organs or tissue parts. Mainly it deals with the visible part of the body. The goal of plastic surgery is to restore or improve body shape and visibly disturbed body functions. In plastic surgery, procedures are performed for both purely aesthetic and purely functional reasons. Or both aspects come into play at the same time.
An essential part is the aesthetic surgery. This includes shape-changing procedures whose indications are not determined medically, but exclusively by the patient’s wishes. They are colloquially known as “cosmetic surgery” and aim to improve the appearance. Aesthetic surgery is not a reinvention of the It has been known for at least 1,400 years and had significant successes in the Middle Ages and early modern period, although it did not experience its boom until the 19th century.
Contrary to popular belief, plastic surgeons are not just “cosmetic surgeons” by virtue of their advanced training. His training is mainly in the field of reconstructive surgery (e.g., of congenital deformities, accidental injuries, burns). Aesthetic surgery is a part of his training.
