It has been common to think that plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are the same. In reality, it is one of the biggest misconceptions of many people. This misconception was widely spread, in part, because many plastic surgeons often focus their practice on cosmetic surgery, making the terms to be used interchangeably. – A cosmetic surgery is often called “plastic surgery”, so when people say that they are interested in a plastic surgery, they are actually looking for a cosmetic surgery to improve appearance. Although both plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are aimed at improving appearance of a person, they differ in studies, research, trainings and focus of the procedures.

So, what exactly is cosmetic surgery? It is an area of medicine focused entirely on enhancing appearance of a person by means of surgical and nonsurgical techniques. Cosmetic or aesthetic surgeries are usually performed on the head and neck, as well as on all areas of the body with the major goal of improving aesthetic proportion, symmetry and appeal. They are performed by doctors from different medical fields, including plastic surgeons. One of the most distinguishing aspects of cosmetic surgeries is that they are designed as elective due to the fact that they treat properly functioning areas of the body. Examples of cosmetic or aesthetic surgeries include, among others, surgeries that change the shape and size of different parts of the face, such as rhinoplasty and cheek or chin enhancement; body contouring procedures, such as liposuction and tummy tuck; facial rejuvenation procedures like facelift, neck lift, eyelid lift and brow lift; and skin rejuvenation treatments, such as laser resurfacing.

As opposed to cosmetic surgeries that treat aesthetic issues, plastic surgery refers to repairing and reconstruction of defects in a person’s appearance due to birth disorders, disease, burns, and trauma. The main goal of plastic surgeries is to correct dysfunctional parts of the body and, therefore, they are in most cases covered by health insurances since plastic surgeries are considered to be medically necessary. Among the surgical techniques that plastic surgeons use is moving live and healthy tissue such as skin, fat, muscle and blood vessels, from one area of the body to another area affected by a defect, disease or trauma. Although a significant number of plastic surgeons complete additional training in order to perform cosmetic surgical procedures as well, their main specialty remains to be reconstructive plastic surgery. Examples of plastic surgery procedures include breast reconstruction, repair of congenital defects like extremity defect repair or cleft palate, burn repair surgery, hand surgery, scar revision surgery, and lower extremity reconstruction.

It is also important to understand that the training of plastic surgeons differs from the training of cosmetic surgeons. While plastic surgeons often choose to go through the specialized training to perform cosmetic surgeries, cosmetic surgeons usually cannot perform reconstructive surgeries. Knowing the difference between these two types of surgeons and the surgical procedures they perform will help you choose the right doctor for the surgery you need. Just keep in mind that although plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery differ in many ways, in the non-academic setting both terms are used interchangeably.