What is Cosmetic Surgery?

In succinct terms, cosmetic surgery is plastic surgery performed for cosmetic purposes. A laser face lift aesthetically improves a person's exterior, for example, by resurfacing sagging and wrinkled facial skin, while thigh liposuction smoothes out cellulite-ridden sections of the leg.

Despite cosmetic surgery risks and denunciation from certain members of the population, cosmetic surgery is becoming increasingly pervasive throughout the globe, particularly as novel and cost-effective techniques are being honed every day. There are scores of cosmetic surgery procedures available, from gummy bear breast implants and nose plastic surgery to chin liposuction and mid face lifts. The most popular cosmetic surgery procedures among adults are currently nose contouring ("nose job" rhinoplasty), pouched eye and eyelid skin removal (blepharoplasty), face lifts (rhytidectomy) and breast augmentation (mammoplasty).

Although some continue to conceive of cosmetic surgery exclusively as a woman's opportunity to change unflattering body parts, growing numbers of men all of the Unites States are looking into facelifts and eyelid surgery, as well as hair transplants and plastic surgery "tummy tucks."

Cosmetic surgery statistics evidence its popularity; eight billion dollars was poured into plastic surgery in 2004 alone. Cosmetic surgery costs run from $400 for a non-invasive injection to $6,000 for invasive surgical procedures.