Plastic Surgery versus Cosmetic Surgery
Plastic surgery is a term often used interchangeably with cosmetic surgery. For the most part that is acceptable but in some cases it is important to know the difference. Plastic surgery is a specific type of surgery that can involve not only a person’s appearance but also their ability to function normally. Plastic surgery is dedicated to the reconstruction of body and facial defects that may have been caused by a variety of things. These could include:
- Disease
- Trauma
- Birth Disorders
- Burns
Though these surgeries should improve a person’s appearance the primary goal is reconstructive and or for the purposes of restoring function.
Cosmetic Surgery
Cosmetic Surgery has also been called aesthetic plastic surgery. This specialty is targeted at improving a person’s appearance. This website is more focused on this type of surgery. Cosmetic surgery is a very popular. In 2006 the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported almost 11 million cosmetic plastic surgeries were performed in the United States. Cosmetic procedures cover a wide range of sub segments from liposuction to botox. The popularity of cosmetic surgery has also been rising for men having procedures like liposuction and breast reductions just to name a few. Though men undergo many of the same procedures as women there are differences because the structure of a man’s body is technically different so men should be sure to ask questions specific to their gender when considering the procedures.
Is Beauty a Driver For Choosing Cosmetic Surgery or Plastic Surgery?
Unfortunately outer beauty is a big reason for cosmetic procedures. We live in a society that values how good we look. It can determine the mate you can get. It even can be a factor in the job that you get. Inner beauty should be everyone’s goal and the choice to undergo cosmetic procedures is a truly personal one. External beauty is something that can effect inner beauty in the sense that you may feel more comfortable with yourself causing you to be more confident. Confidence has been known to be at least half the battle in succeeding in almost anything today. In true cases of plastic surgery though beauty may not be the primary motivator but it helps bring back the confidence and the well being that may have been lost.
In conclusion we can see that plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery coexist and at time intermingle. Whether you need plastic surgery after an accident or cosmetic surgery to fix that problem that has nagged you for years the first stop in your journey is your doctor. They can then direct you to the type of surgeon you need since there are so many sub specialties that surgeons focus on. You want to get the one that is right for you.
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Liposuction Recovery Time - Your Roadmap
As seen in my previous posts cosmetic surgery is best for the well-informed. Your liposuction recovery time depends greatly on you. What do you need to know to get up off your feet and back to work in the quickest time possible? Here is our guide to making the most of your recuperation time.
So you took the chance - you had the liposuction procedure performed. There were no complications the doctor made a point of telling you everything went smoothly. Liposuction recovery time can be quite amazing because you recover at a fairly quick rate. You will be able to get up and walk around easily right after the surgery - it is rare that a patient would have to leave the hospital in a wheel chair.
Here are some things to plan for:
- Plan to have someone else drive you home
- Once you are home although you are not confined to your bed you are definitely advised to relax.
- You are allowed to shower, but you should not take a bath for at least a week.
The night after liposuction, most patients usually sleep well. The next morning, however, is when most patients start to experience slight discomfort. This normally goes away as the patients walk around and move about the house. Do not make the mistake of not moving around. I went through 2 c-sections and the first time I was afraid to move and my recovery time was definitely longer than the second time when I knew better and listened to the nurses.
Typical Stages of Liposuction Recuperation
During the first seventy-two hours after the liposuction surgery, you will most likely observe some drainage from the incisions that the doctors do not stitch. The doctors do not stitch these incisions because swelling tends to go down more quickly if the doctors do not stitch the incisions. However, you should allow the incisions to drain as quickly as possible in order to speed up the healing process. The dressings on your incisions should be changed frequently during your liposuction recovery time, especially during the first twenty-four hours. By the third day, only band-aids will need to be used. Bruising and swelling also tend to occur after liposuction; the bruises and swelling will fade or go down within the next two to three weeks of your liposuction recovery time.
By the third day of recovering from liposuction, many people are out and about running errands. At this time, the spot where the surgery was performed on may feel a little tender if touched or if you accidentally bump into it. Most doctors recommend that you wear a compression garment for the first several days after your surgery.
To more quickly recover from liposuction, there are a few things you can do.
- drink adequate amounts of water to prevent dehydration
- avoid alcoholic beverages for forty-eight hours before and after surgery
- make sure to wear your compression garments to prevent slow healing and excessive drainage
Liposuction recovery time can be fast if you follow the guidelines set forth by your doctor. Don’t let the excitement get to you and forget what you did this for in the first place. Your new body depends on it!
Identifying The Pros And Cons Of Liposuction
Good! You’re a logical decision maker. You want to know the pros and cons of liposuction surgery and you don’t want us to hold anything back. Surgery is a decision never to be made lightly. With few exceptions, cosmetic surgery is not normally a necessary procedure. For something like liposuction (lipoplasty), there are advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered way before you schedule that surgery. I apologize in advance for the long post but I thought this topic deserved the real estate!
Analyzing the Decision
It is completely understandable and expected to have some concerns about the risks and benefits of having liposuction. You should not be the only one concerned about this.
Your doctor should also be asking plenty of questions during the initial consultation. These questions should include:
- Why are you considering cosmetic surgery?
- Do you exercise regularly?
- What is your normal diet?
He should also want to know if your weight has fluctuated much over the recent years. If your weight has fluctuated you might not be the ideal candidate for this plastic surgery. Lipoplasty is not a quick fix weight loss solution. You will still need to follow a exercise regularly and maintain a healthy, sensible diet . Knowing you have done the most you could do with nonsurgical efforts will help you justify the risks involved while having a clear picture of what you want for your body.
The clear advantage of this surgery is that relative to exercise and diet the results are quicker and more dramatic. You can be back to work in 1 to 2 weeks. For some areas like the abdomen it may be the only way to get those perfect abs since for most of us stomach fat is the most difficult to get rid of.
So what are the disadvantages? Most people are usually sold on something because they want the benefits. Unfortunately some do not look into the risks involved, which in some cases could be severe. The majority of the risks with lipoplasty revolve around the risk of surgery itself. These risks could be as present for a woman having a c-section as they would be for another having abdominal lipoplasty.
Your surgeon will most likely discuss the pros and cons of liposuction with you more than once. The doctor may also have you see a psychiatrist to make sure you are in the right frame of mind to make these decisions. During this time make sure to get a listing of the possible complications associated with this surgery. The major areas of concern are:
- Excessive Liposuction
- Minor Surgical Complications
- Major Surgical Complications
- Anesthesia Risks
- Increased Bleeding due to Drug Interactions
There is a maximum amount of liposuction that is advised for safety reasons. What does this mean? Make sure to discuss the following with your doctor:
- amount of fat that is going to be removed
- the different areas that are to be done
- whether more than one surgical procedure is going to take place that day
The more that is done in each of these areas the more the risk. Make sure to ask the doctor what is the recommended amount in all of these areas and are you in the best shape to be able to go through the process.
Ask the doctor for a full listing of the common and minor surgical complications to make sure you will at least be prepared for them if they do happen. The major surgical complications are more rare and include blood clots and injury to organs like the abdomen. Again make sure and ask a doctor for a list of these.
Anesthesia risks is a possible major complication of liposuction. When looking at the pros and cons of liposuction this is definitely an area to do your homework. Choosing the right type of anesthesia can be a life of death decision. Though minimal there have been deaths associated with the use of systemic anesthesia. Please be sure to ask your doctor about your options and check the credentials of the anesthesiologist who will be involved in your surgery.
The last risk again is one associated with surgery in general. Everyday drugs can cause increased bleeding after surgery. These drugs include but are not limited to:
- aspirin
- ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil)
- warfarin (Coumadin)
Your doctor should provide you with a list and guidelines on how soon you can use them after surgery.
So now that you know a fair amount about the pros and cons of liposuction you are ready to go to your doctor with a good list of questions. There are also a variety of resources online from plastic surgery associations. If you don’t feel you’re getting the real story from your doctors make sure you don’t get pressured. Better to be safe than sorry.
Cosmetic Procedures and You - More Common Than You Think
I recently entered my 40s and as most women know this is when your body starts to show the signs of age. Cosmetic procedures were not something I thought I would consider but I’m no longer that sure. As I thought about this I wondered about how common they were. Well first we would need to consider what falls under the category of cosmetic procedure. When I first thought about it plastic surgery is the first to come to mind but there is much more to this than just that.
During my research I found some great statistics provided by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery(ASAPS). This organization’s primary mission is to conduct research and provide education in the area of cosmetic plastic surgery. Though there focus appears to be cosmetic surgery you will see that they cover non-surgical areas as well. Here are some snippets I found interesting from the ASAPS data:
The most recent statistics are for 2005. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery(ASAPS) noted that it’s doctors and surgeons had performed almost 11.5 million cosmetic procedures. Of these procedures, 19 percent were surgical and the remaining 81 percent were non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
Though there was a decrease of 4% from 2004-2005 in the total number the growth in popularity of some of the procedures is amazing, particularly in the use of Botox. Keep in mind since 1997 there has been an increase of 444% in the total number of cosmetic procedures. Surgical procedures grew 119 percent but non-surgical procedures grew 726 percent.
For 2005, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery noted how often various procedures were performed. Their results showed that the number one plastic surgery procedure was liposuction.
Top 5 Surgical Cosmetic Procedures were:
- Liposuction(otherwise known as lipoplasty)
- Breast Augmentation
- Blepharoplasty(Eyelid Surgery)
- Rhinoplasty (Nose Job)
- Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)
Top 5 Nonsurgical Cosmetic Procedures were:
- Botox
- Laser Hair Removal
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Microdermabrasion
- Chemical Peel
The breakdown of the data for male cosmetic procedures versus female shows that there are commonalities like liposuction and eyelid surgery but diverged from there.
The top procedures for males were:
- Liposuction
- Rhinoplasty
- Blepharoplasty(Eyelid Surgery
- Male Breast Reduction
- Facelift
Hair Transplantation dropped by 41% from 2004.
The top procedures for females were:
- Liposuction
- Breast Augmentation
- Blepharoplasty(Eyelid surgery
- Abdominoplasty
- Breast Lift(what is this?)
Facelifts dropped off of the top five tin 2005.
The demographics of the data also surprised me a little. Since most people think of cosmetic procedures as plastic surgery they tend to associate them with older people. I think they would be surprised to find that due to the nonsurgical cosmetic procedures available younger people have also entered the mix. Though those 35 and older due account for 71 percent of the numbers, 29 percent are younger and of that 1.5 percent are 18 and under. Laser Hair Removal is the most popular for this set.
Many of these procedures, particularly the surgical ones are very expensive. You may be asking yourself how much these procedures cost. Overall in 2005 Americans spent $12.4 billion on cosmetic procedures. The surprising thing here to me is that many procedures are not covered by insurance. A whole new business has cropped up to help finance the demand. The non-surgical cosmetic procedures are of course cheaper but they may require multiple treatments so the costs can stack up.
So where does all this information leave us? I wanted to explore this topic so I started this blog to research areas that I might be interested in and perhaps hear from others who are going through the same. Given the information I think I will start with Liposuction since there has to be a reason why it is so popular. Maybe after that we can take a look at Botox on the non-surgical side. I definitely think exploring the non-surgical cosmetic surgeries are worth the effort as well since a lot of thought and research should go into anything that will have a lasting affect not only on your body but more importantly the inner you as well. Till next time…
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