The Decision to Undergo Cosmetic Surgery Is a Big One. Here’s How to Make it a Smart One
Once you decide that plastic surgery is right for you, there are many details to consider, including which surgeon will perform your procedure. Choosing the surgeon with the right credentials is important. While any licensed physician can legally perform cosmetic procedures, a patient should carefully review the surgeon’s background, training, and board certification to ensure they’re in good hands.
What is another name for a cosmetic surgeon?
What Is a Cosmetic Surgeon?
A Cosmetic Surgeon is trained to improve the proportion, aesthetic appeal and symmetry of a patient’s appearance. Their training and procedures are focused entirely on enhancing the patient’s looks, not to correct functional problems. Cosmetic surgery can be performed on all areas of the body, and some physicians have additional specialty training in procedures for the head and neck.
Although cosmetic surgeries may share some techniques with reconstructive procedures, such as rhinoplasty, these are different specialties with different objectives. Reconstructive procedures are typically deemed medically necessary and are covered by insurance, while cosmetic procedures are nearly always elective and not considered to serve any therapeutic purpose.
Cosmetic surgery patients are often people who feel uncomfortable with a part of their body, whether it’s a condition such as gynecomastia (excess breast tissue) or a birthmark that doesn’t fade with time. Other patients simply want to look their best. Some surgical procedures, such as chin and malar augmentation or facial fillers, are performed in a physician’s office, while others require general anesthesia and must be done in the hospital under the care of an anesthesiologist and nurse.