The term Plastic Surgery comes from the Greek word "Plastikos", which means to mold or to shape. The first published use of that word was by German surgeon Karl Ferdinand von Graefe (1787-1840), one of the pioneers of plastic surgery. He operated on the cleft palate and the eye, and developed the first satisfactory procedure to correct the nose, called Rhinoplasty.

There are two types of plastic surgery, Cosmetic and Reconstructive.

Reconstructive surgery is designed to restore the normal appearance and functioning of disfigured or impaired areas of the human body. In other words, its goal is to fix things or to restore the function (as well as the appearance) of a body part that may have been injured, diseased, or suffered from some birth defect. The goal is to restore damaged function by restoring normal form.

Cosmetic surgery also called Aesthetic plastic surgery, is designed primarily to enhance or improve the looks of an individual who may not have a gross deformity or physical impairment. It is surgery performed on normal structures of the body solely for the purpose of improving the appearance of an otherwise healthy person.

Remember: "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" Ben Franklin