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Plastic Surgery Glossary

We’ve put together a list of some of the most frequently used terms. This guide is designed to clarify the language often used in plastic surgery so you can feel confident and educated when considering your options.

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  • Abdominoplasty: A surgical body contouring procedure, commonly known as a tummy tuck, designed to remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen and tighten underlying muscles.
  • Aesthetic Surgery: Elective surgical procedures performed to enhance one’s appearance, often for self-confidence rather than medical necessity.
  • Aesthetician: A trained specialist in non-medical skin care and beauty treatments, offering cosmetic services like facials, exfoliation, and skin rejuvenation.
  • Anesthesia: A method of medically blocking sensation to enable painless surgery, available in local, regional, or general forms based on procedure type.
  • Anomaly: A physical irregularity or birth defect differing from the standard structure of the body, which may require surgical intervention or correction.
  • Antihelical Fold: A natural ridge located just inside the outer rim of the ear, often emphasized or restored in ear reshaping surgeries like otoplasty.
  • Arborizing Veins: Small, branching veins that form a web-like or tree-like appearance, typically seen in spider vein conditions on the thighs or legs.
  • Apert Syndrome: A genetic condition marked by premature skull bone fusion, facial anomalies, and fused fingers or toes, often corrected through reconstructive surgery.
  • Areola: The darker pigmented circular area surrounding the nipple, which may be altered during cosmetic breast procedures for size or symmetry enhancement.
  • Asymmetry: A difference in shape, size, or placement between two corresponding parts of the body, often corrected with cosmetic or reconstructive surgery.
  • Auditory Canal: A narrow passage within the ear that conducts sound waves from the external ear to the eardrum; important in ear structure and hearing function.
  • Augmentation Mammaplasty: A surgical procedure that enlarges the breasts using implants or fat transfer to enhance shape, volume, and symmetry.
  • Autologous Tissue Breast Reconstruction: A method of rebuilding the breast using the patient’s own tissue, typically harvested from the abdomen, back, or thighs.