Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: Common Procedures

Aesthetic plastic surgery: common procedures

Since, in principle, every intervention involves risks, the patient must be informed by the surgeon about the chances of success and possible complications. This is to be seen even more strictly if the procedure or the operation is not medically indicated and is to be seen as a pure "cosmetic procedure".

In many interventions there is also a function-improving component in addition to the shape-improving component (e.g. breast reduction, eyelid correction).

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• Eyelid correction
• Ear correction
• Rhinoplasty
• Breast correction
• Scar corrections
• Facelift
• Liposuction
• Tummy tuck

The aim of aesthetic plastic operations is to harmonize the external appearance. The costs of an aesthetic plastic operation are covered by the health insurance companies or not, depending on the indication. Pure “cosmetic surgery” without “functional components” are usually not paid for by health insurance. If there is a medical indication, costs may be covered, e.g. for breast reduction surgery, eyelid surgery or ear corrections in childhood. In case of doubt, you should ask the health insurance company about a cost assumption before the operation.

The most common interventions are shown below. The methods used are in many cases taken from the field of reconstructive plastic surgery or adapted accordingly (reconstructive plastic surgery: frequent surgical techniques).

Eyelid correction

Age changes in the eyelid area are noticeable as bags under the eyes, excess skin on the upper eyelids and sagging of the lateral eyebrow area. Surgery can remove excess skin and unwanted fat tissue. Sometimes the lateral brow area is also raised and parts of the muscles and / or fat pads are removed. The skin incisions follow the natural folds on the upper and lower eyelids and are placed laterally in an existing skin fold.

Ear correction

Protruding ears are one of the most common congenital malformations of the ears and are caused by an inadequate curvature of the ear cartilage. Children in particular suffer from this as they are frequently teased or ridiculed. The ideal age for treatment is between four and 14 years, but correction is also possible in adults.

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty can not only have purely cosmetic but also functional reasons, for example when nasal breathing is impeded by a curvature of the septum. Most often, annoying nasal bumps lead to the desire for an operation, but the nose can also be shortened, narrowed, straightened or changed in the area of the nose tip.

Breast correction

As a female gender characteristic, the breast is of great importance for the psychological well-being and self-esteem of women. Shape variants such as breasts that are too large, very small, sagging or asymmetrical can impair mental health.

• For the reduction and tightening of the breast, the nipple is moved upwards and either glandular and fatty tissue or - in the case of breast tightening - only skin is removed from the lower areas of the breast. In addition, the glandular body can be anchored higher up on the chest muscle. Modern surgical methods aim to keep the scars as short as possible, but cannot be used for every breast shape.
• Breast augmentation involves placing a breast implant either under the glandular body or the pectoral muscle. Access is from an incision below the breast, in the armpit or in the area of the nipple.
• To correct breast asymmetries, a combination of the techniques described above is used depending on the shape variant.

Scar corrections

Because of their appearance, scars can be cosmetically disruptive or the cause of functional impairments. Whether scars reach their “ideal state”, namely line-shaped and delicate, color-less noticeable and in the skin level, depends on the cause (type of injury), the care of the wound, the course of healing, the hereditary disposition and the care of the scars. Scar correction is only carried out after the scar has matured, i.e. usually not before a year. Scars that cause functional disabilities need to be corrected immediately.

Plastic-surgical scar treatment can in principle be carried out at any age. Depending on the nature and size of the scar, different plastic-surgical techniques are used.

Facelift

Facelifting removes excess skin in the forehead, temples, cheek and neck area and tightens the underlying tissue. Sometimes the procedure can be done endoscopically.

Liposuction

The main indication for liposuction is misshapen accumulations of fat. In women, the thigh-hip region (so-called breeches lipomatosis), the buttocks, the knees and the abdomen, less often the lower legs, the upper arms or the face and neck area are affected. In men, the unwanted fat deposits are usually in the abdomen, flanks and chest.

Superficial liposuction can sometimes lead to a considerable shrinkage of the skin, and existing skin folds can also disappear in this way. If, however, there is a large excess of skin, the slack tissue must be removed - usually one speaks of a tightening of the respective body region, e.g. tummy tuck.

Tummy tuck

After extreme weight loss, liposuction or pregnancy, the body often does not recede the greatly expanded abdominal wall. The result is wrinkled, hanging skin flaps ("fat aprons") and visible overstretching of the subcutaneous tissue ("stretch marks").

If there is a large excess of skin, the sagging tissue can be surgically removed. Depending on the region, one speaks of abdominal wall, thigh, buttock, upper arm tightening, etc. Longer scars resulting from these operations are - if possible - placed in inconspicuous areas of the body or existing wrinkles.