DO DIFFERENCES EXIST BETWEEN THE PLASTIC SURGERY AND THE AESTHETICS?


INTRODUCTION


It exists a wide intrusism that whips our profession which germinates quickly, due to the public's disinformation in general, which is taken advantage of by a great quantity of pirates, and false prophets that offer a great quantity of magic procedures without convalescence and with extremely debatable results from the scientific and moral point of view.

It is for it that the Costa Rican Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetics in a desire of creating conscience to the medical union in general want to clarify certain concepts that we believe opportune to take into account.


HISTORY

The plastic surgery is a specialized branch of the surgery, takes charge of to repair deformities and to correct functional defects.


The term "plastic" it was used by Desault in 1798, this it was popularized when he/she appears published in the book of Zeis Handbuch der plastischen Chirurgie" in 1838.

The aesthetic surgery treats the lesions that have to do with the embellishment of people without interference in the function. In occasions, the aesthetic surgery has a defined social function as improvement of the corporal image.

We can define it like a surgical specialty that has for object the functional reconstruction and aesthetics of the fabrics. We prefix the term functionality to that of aesthetics, of not being possible to reach both objectives, the function should be preferred to the aesthetics.

The term "plastic" it is used in the sense of creating, to model, to reconstruct, and it can classify it in several big groups:


Congenital malformations
Acquired malformations
Traumatisms
Burns
Tumors
Surgery of the hands


What does it mean Plastic Surgery?

The term "Plastic" that is applied to this branch of the surgery it comes from the Greek and it is applied in the sense of giving form.

The Plastic Surgery you can divide in two big fields:


The Plastic Surgery - Reparative and
The Plastic Surgery - Aesthetics

Both intimately united ones in many aspects, like in the specialist's basic formation and in important facets of their made.

The Plastic Surgery - Repairman tries to restore or to improve the function and the physical aspect in the lesions caused by accidents and burns, in illnesses and tumors of the skin and support fabrics and in congenital anomalies, mainly of face (skull, lip, palate, nose, ears), I flow and genital.

The Plastic Surgery - Aesthetics on the other hand, tries with patient healthy, and its object is the correction of alterations of the aesthetic norm with the purpose of obtaining a bigger facial and corporal harmony or of the sequels taken place by the aging. In Plastic Surgery - Aesthetics the primordial purpose is to increase the emotional stability when improving the corporal image or personal perception of the physical aspect. This is translated in a bigger security and sensation of well-being in the atmosphere, so much professional as affective or social, improving this way the quality of life. The quantity of people that you/they undergo interventions of Aesthetic Surgery periodically continues in increase. Although the Aesthetic Surgery was during a time a resource to which the women only went, at the present time, a growing number of males undergoes these interventions.

Although the motivation to undergo an intervention of Aesthetic Surgery is very personal, there are external factors that undoubtedly influence. Such it is, for example, the current orientation of our society toward the youth and in which a young and dynamic physical aspect is primordial to be able to compete in equality of conditions. Similar importance has a good physical aspect in a large part of the professions and in the communication with the social and affective atmosphere. It also influences the fashion, today guided toward a better care and bigger exhibition of the body.

Sometimes, the reason is to overcome the perceptions that can have the other ones with regard to diverse physical characteristics. Some fallen lids can give an image of fatigue, a prominent abdomen to give an image of personal negligence and gluttony, etc. These trials of the other ones influence negatively and they go in detriment of the concept of corporal image.

However, be which the reasons to undergo interventions of Aesthetic Surgery, it is important that the patient has a clear idea and realist of the objectives that can be reached by means of the Aesthetic Surgery, of her limitations and of her risks in order to be able to make a free decision. The Aesthetic Surgery can change its aspect and to sit down with it the base that feels better and increases its trust and security.


What risks does he/she has an aesthetic intervention?

The surgical possibilities as for the result should coincide with the hopes that the patient shelters and they should compensate the possible risks that depend not only on the experience and the surgeon's ability, thoroughly but also of the own scaring quality and the patient's cure. The operations of plastic surgery of course are not excluded from the inherent risks of general type to any other surgery type or of anesthetic type, either local, regional or general (allergies, problems cardiovascular and circulatory, hemorrhages, infections, pathological scaring for tendency to hypertrophic scar or queloids).

However, the percentage of general complications in plastic surgery is statistically extremely reduced, among other reasons to be a surgery that is not intracavitary in the great majority (cranial, thoracic or abdominal), requiring a less deep anesthesia and to be made in general in patient healthy. Millions of people are intervened annually of aesthetics operations without problems, since the results compensate the eventual risks thoroughly. -

It can be said that in all the countries, only the possession of Medical Surgeon's title, sent by an University of grateful trajectory, authorizes who possesses it to exercise and to carry out medical or surgical practices. Then, regarding the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and they specify of some graduate degree studies to reach the level of knowledge and necessary experience in each one of these disciplines, and it is so at the end of this studies that you/they can be classified as specialization who carries out them he/she obtains specialist's title in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. This specialization that in general has a time of two year-old duration in General Surgery and of three in Plastic Surgery, although this period varies according to the universities and to the thought of effective studies in the different countries, it is what really qualifies for the exercise of the specialty.

Equally it is need to inform that in all the countries institutions exist that lower the name of Scientific Societies, and in this case of Societies of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetics Surgery, they contain all the specialists in the matter and they guarantee that they fulfill all the records in academic credentials that the profession and their exercise need. To these institutions they affiliate those medical professionals that show the formation, knowledge, experience and ethics and that constantly they are upgraded through symposia, congresses, seminars, courses and scientific publications.

From our Association, we consider important to point out that each person that has thought to undergo some surgical medical practice in the field of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery it should verify the seriousness and professionalism of who will carry out him this practice, and not to fall in the irresponsibility of not undergoing treatments and actions that belong to the field of the medicine, with people qualified and irresponsibly audacious that without a doubt will cause serious and irreversible damages for the lack of appropriate preparation.

It is individual responsibility the election of the treatment, operation or surgical act, and it is for it that only the advice and the plastic surgeon's orientation, member of the corresponding scientific Society, will guarantee us the best result. Each professional can have a different focus, they can have individual differences, but always, when choosing the qualified person properly, the results will be satisfactory. It is for it that we emphasize in that the specialists can only guide on this matter.