The Patients Area

What is aesthetic (Cosmetic) Surgery?

Aesthetic plastic surgery has the ability to provide profound health benefits to patients - both physically and for their psychosocial well-being. This has been evidenced in multiple scientific studies and is the driver behind the positive stance the BAAPS takes on promoting patient safety and plastic surgeon education in the realm of aesthetic surgery.

For example, abdominoplasty surgery (tummy tuck) addresses in part the separation of abdominal muscles that occurs after pregnancies or weight gain then loss, which in turn has a positive effect on core muscle strength and back pain; breast reduction surgery not only improves the aesthetics of the breast, but also receives shoulder, neck and back pain due to the reduction in weight of the breasts and brow lifting and upper eyelid surgery can improve a patient’s visual fields that can start to be obstructed by the “window shading” caused by a low brow and eyelid skin excess.

Most aesthetic surgery combines a “functional” as well as aesthetic component, and even in situations in which there is no functional change, the impact on a patient’s psychological situation can be life-changing.