Cosmetic or Aesthetic Surgery

Aesthetic Surgery involves techniques intended for the enhancement of appearance through surgical and medical techniques, and is specifically concerned with maintaining normal appearance, restoring it, or enhancing it beyond the average level toward some aesthetic ideal.

In 2006, nearly 11 million cosmetic surgeries were performed in the United States alone. The number of cosmetic sprocedures performed in the United States has increased over 50 percent since the start of the century. Nearly 12 million cosmetic surgeries were performed in 2007, with the five most common being breast augmentation, liposuction, nasal surgery, eyelid surgery and abdominoplasty. The increased use of cosmetic surgery crosses racial and ethnic lines in the U.S., with increases seen among African-Americans and Hispanic Americans as well as Caucasian Americans. In Europe, the second largest market for cosmetic procedures, cosmetic surgery is a $2.2 billion business.

The most prevalent aesthetic/cosmetic procedures are listed below. Most of these types of surgery are more commonly known by their "common names." These are also listed when pertinent.

    * Abdominoplasty (or "tummy tuck"): reshaping and firming of the abdomen
    * Blepharoplasty (or "eyelid surgery"): Reshaping of the eyelids or the application of permanent eyeliner, including Asian blepharoplasty
    * Mammoplasty
          o Breast augmentation ("breast enlargement" or "boob job"): Augmentation of the breasts. This can involve either fat grafting, saline or silicone gel prosthetics. Initially performed to women with micromastia
          o Breast reduction: Removal of skin and glandular tissue. Indicated to reduce back and shoulder pain in women with gigantomastia and/or for psychological benefit in women with gigantomastia/macromastia and men with gynecomastia.
          o Breast lift (Mastopexy): Lifting or reshaping of breasts to make them less saggy, often after weight loss (after a pregnancy, for example). It involves removal of breast skin as opposed to glandular tissue or scarless suture technique
    * Buttock Augmentation (or "butt augmentation" or "butt implants"): Enhancement of the buttocks. This procedure can be performed by using silicone implants or fat grafting and transfer from other areas of the body.
    * Buttock lift (or "butt lift" or "brazilian butt lift"): Lifting, projection, tightening of the buttocks. This procedure can be performed by using the scarless Serdev suture technique without implants.
    * Chemical peel: Minimizing the appearance of acne, pock, and other scars as well as wrinkles (depending on concentration and type of agent used, except for deep furrows), solar lentigines (age spots, freckles), and photodamage in general. Chemical peels commonly involve carbolic acid (Phenol), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), glycolic acid (AHA), or salicylic acid (BHA) as the active agent.
    * Labiaplasty: Surgical reduction and reshaping of the labia
    * Rhinoplasty (or "nose job"): Reshaping of the nose
    * Otoplasty (or ear surgery): Reshaping of the ear. Most often done by pinning the ear closer to the head.
    * Rhytidectomy (or "face lift"): Removal of wrinkles and signs of aging from the face
    * Suction-Assisted Lipectomy (or liposuction): Removal of fat from the body
    * Brow lift: higher brow position by surgical or scarless suture
    * Chin augmentation: Augmentation of the chin with an implant (e.g. silicone) by sliding genioplasty of the jawbone or by suture of the soft tissue.
    * Cheek augmentation
    * Cheek lift/Midface lift using scarless suture technique.
    * Collagen, fat, and other tissue filler injections (e.g. hyaluronic acid)
    * Laser skin resurfacing
    * Hilotherapy a therapy that provides relief from heamatoma, pain and swelling post-surgery without the dangers of Frostbite and Skin Necrosis


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