Don't be mistaken, this is the difference between reconstructive plastic surgery and aesthetic plastic surgery.

Often, plastic surgery is misunderstood as "beauty surgery". This is not wrong, but only covers a small part of the very broad field of plastic surgery. The competence of a plastic surgeon consists of two things, namely, reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery.

Plastic Reconstructive Surgery

Reconstructive plastic surgery focuses on efforts to repair or restore abnormal body shape and function, whether caused by birth defects, injuries, tumors, infections, metabolic disorders, and so on. The realm of reconstruction is usually grouped into 6 main areas:

• Burns. Plastic surgery treats cases of heat-induced trauma, such as fire, hot water, electricity, chemicals, etc., including long-term complications of burns such as scars and contractures (impaired movement).
• Craniofacial Common cases in this field include traumatic facial injuries and fractures, as well as congenital abnormalities such as cleft lip and palate.
• Wound and tumor reconstruction. This field includes wound management such as diabetic foot and pressure ulcers; wound closure after tumor removal; as well as abnormal scar problems such as keloids, sunken scars, etc.
• Hands. Cases in this field include trauma to the soft tissues and bones of the hand, as well as congenital abnormalities such as syndactyly (sticky fingers).
• External genitalia Examples of cases handled by plastic surgery in this field are circumcision, hypospadias (an abnormal location of the urinary opening), and complications after injection of liquid silicone.
• Microsurgery Cases covered in microplastic surgery include amputation of fingers and the penis.

Plastic Surgery for Aesthetic Purposes In contrast to the realm of reconstruction, aesthetic plastic surgery aims to improve or beautify the appearance of normal body parts. Broadly speaking, the aesthetic realm is divided into 4 areas:

• Augmentation, namely "adding" certain body parts to make them look more harmonious. This includes rhinoplasty (nose beautification), breast implants, and chin implants.
• Rejuvenation, namely "reversing" the effects of aging, For example, blepharoplasty (improves eye bags), face lifts, genital rejuvenation (restoring the shape and firmness of the vagina), and removal of breasts that descend after pregnancy and childbirth.
• Body sculpting, which is shaping the body area to be more harmonious. This includes liposuction (suction), tummy tuck (tightens a sagging belly), brachioplasty/thighplasty (reduces arms and thighs), and buccal fat removal (tightens the cheeks).
• Miscellaneous: Asian blepharoplasty (clearing of the upper eyelid crease), tattoo correction, hyperhidrosis (excess sweating), and PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection.

And reconstructive surgery makes something less than normal become normal. It could be due to defects, something lost due to disability, wounds that don't heal, congenital abnormalities, or damage caused by disease to malignancy. One example of a case through reconstructive surgery is a cleft lip. The condition of the lips, which are not the same in general, can cause some functions to be disturbed.

Created by : dr. Sandy Sofian Sopandi, Sp.B-RE