Plastic Surgery is Much More Than Breast Augmentation

The medical specialty of plastic surgery deals with correcting or restoring the function or form of parts of the human anatomy.  Although it is often considered cosmetic in nature, that is often not the case.  In fact, most plastic surgeons work to reconstruct damaged parts of the body from illness, birth defect, or trauma.  A smaller percentage of the work plastic surgeons do is purely aesthetic.  This work, unfortunately, has received an undue amount of attention in the press, skewing public opinion regarding the work of these specialized medical professionals.  Some examples of the important work these doctors do are reconstructive surgery, microsurgery, and burn treatments. 

Because it is a specialized field, it takes many years of medical education to become a plastic surgeon.  Students go through exacting training under the supervision of experienced professionals before they are able to become certified plastic surgeons.  Competition in this field is tough because the business is very lucrative.  Within the specialty are many sub specialties that deal with burns, craniofacial surgery, hand surgery, microsurgery, and pediatric syndromes.  Hand surgery specialists, for example, will attain a level of expertise that can now enable them to reattach an appendage that has been traumatically removed in an accident.  Pediatric plastic surgeons often deal with genetic abnormalities and other birth deformities.  

Plastic surgery prices are indeed high, but that is because of the level of expertise that is involved.  Reattaching a hand or reconstructing a face can take many hours to accomplish, and many follow up surgeries to finish.  These kinds of emergency and necessary procedures are covered by insurance. 

Cosmetic surgery is generally not covered by insurance, unless it is deemed medically necessary.  The price of this surgery is considered high because there is no health insurance benefit to cushion the blow to the patient.  As an example, an elective eyelid tuck can cost over $5,000.  Dimple creation costs about $1500 for one or $2500 for two.  These operations are rather simple for these surgeons.  But, there is a risk with any surgery, especially when anesthesia is involved.  Breast reduction and breast augmentation surgeries can cost from $4000 to $10000, and are billed directly to the patient.  Many doctors require payment in full before commencing.  

This is a real phenomenon concerning addiction to or obsession with cosmetic plastic surgery.  This is referred to as a body dysmorphic disorder, where a person is never happy with their appearance and feels compelled to fix it.  It is estimated that 15% of people who visit plastic surgeons suffer from this disorder, and 2% of the population struggles with this disorder in one form or another.  Due to the price of cosmetic surgery, this disorder can have a devastating effect on their personal finances.  Many people who are turned away by surgeons for this reason often resort to dangerous do it yourself techniques as a way to cope and make themselves feel better.  

Plastic surgery encompasses a multitude of procedures that reshape the current form of the human body.  In some cases, these surgeries are done solely for cosmetic reasons. Surprisingly, however, the vast majority of these procedures are necessary for recovery from injuries of physical malformations.  Skin grafting is an example of a common procedure that plastic surgeons perform, sometimes a couple of times a day.  These surgeries are usually done to help burn victims to heal from their wounds and regain use of their limbs.  Most plastic surgeons do important work, yet are scoffed at for being the stereotypical breast enlargement doctors. This is a very small portion of their practice.  These highly specialized surgeons work every day to allow people to feel whole again