Taking a Look at Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery is something the Western society is very familiar with. Billions of dollars are spent every year on these types of procedures The oldest type of plastic surgery is reconstructive, it developed out of need to treat wounded soldiers during wartimes and help them recover after. This type of plastic surgery is used to rebuild severely fractured bones, skin grafting, and implanting prosthetics. Plastic surgery was then introduced to treat birth defects like clef lip, and remove skin blemishes. This was the start of cosmetic plastic surgery, from the almost necessary correction of cleft lip for children to nose jobs, face lifts, and changing size of breasts on adults. Cosmetic surgery may be the most well-known form of plastic surgery today. These surgeries can affect the psychological health of the patient in a negative or positive way. Many plastic surgeries do have health effects on the patient, they can improve physical abilities of a patient using a prosthetic, or they can improve the self-esteem of the patient by improving their overall physical look. With any surgery there are possible risks and negative health effects, but it is up to the patient and one’s doctor to decide if they will take the risk and have the plastic surgery.
Reconstructive plastic surgery is necessary to treat any type of flesh wound. The skin, muscle, and bone of the human body must be repaired or replace in order to function normally like it did before the injury. This type of surgery is mainly used to, “reattach body parts severed in combat or accidents, to perform skin grafts after severe burns, or to reconstruct parts of the patient’s body that were missing at birth or removed by surgery”(Fey 1). If a person’s arm is severely damage...

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...improve the beauty appearance of a person with non-evasive and evasive procedures. Cosmetic plastic surgery can change the shape, size, and texture of a body part to the patients’ wants or needs. Both types of plastic surgery can improve the physical and mental health of the patient. Patients’ psychological health can also be affected in a negative or positive way, the surgery could boost self-esteem or have undesirable results that lead to depression or more surgeries to complete the perfect body. With any surgery there are risks but it is the patients’ decision if the risks and possibly permanent side effect that go along with the changing of the natural body are worth taking the chance of having the surgery. Plastic surgery has improved the health and life of thousands of people worldwide and with new technologies improve the lives of many others in the future.