wonders of beauty enhancement

Gbex says:Aesthetic plastic surgery involves techniques intended for the "enhancement" of appearance through surgical and medical techniques, and is specifically concerned with maintaining normal appearance, restoring it, or enhancing it beyond the average level toward some aesthetic ideal.

In 2006, nearly 11 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States alone. The number of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States has increased over 50 percent since the start of the century. Nearly 12 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2007, with the five most common surgeries being breast augmentation, liposuction, nasal surgery, eyelid surgery and abdominoplasty. The increased use of cosmetic procedures crosses racial and ethnic lines in the U.S., with increases seen among African-Americans and Hispanic Americans as well as Caucasian Americans. In Europe, the second largest market for cosmetic procedures, cosmetic surgery is a $2.2 billion business.

Cosmetic surgery is now very common in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In Asia, cosmetic surgery has become an accepted practice; currently most widely prevalent and normal in South Korean society due to the competitive nature in society. Children as young as 14 undergoing cosmetic eye surgery in South Korea.

The most prevalent aesthetic/cosmetic procedures include:

* Abdominoplasty ("tummy tuck"): reshaping and firming of the abdomen
* Blepharoplasty ("eyelid surgery"): reshaping of the eyelids or the application of permanent eyeliner, including Asian blepharoplasty
* Phalloplasty
* Mammoplasty:
o Breast augmentations ("breast implant" or "boob job"): augmentation of the breasts by means of fat grafting, saline, or silicone gel prosthetics, which was initially performed to women with micromastia
o Reduction mammoplasty ("breast reduction"): removal of skin and glandular tissue, which is done to reduce back and shoulder pain in women with gigantomastia and/or for psychological benefit men with gynecomastia
o Mastopexy ("breast lift"): Lifting or reshaping of breasts to make them less saggy, often after weight loss (after a pregnancy, for example). It involves removal of breast skin as opposed to glandular tissue
* Buttock augmentation ("butt implant"): enhancement of the buttocks using silicone implants or fat grafting ("Brazilian butt lift") and transfer from other areas of the body
o Buttock lift: lifting, and tightening of the buttocks by excision of redundant skin
* Chemical peel: minimizing the appearance of acne, chicken pox, and other scars as well as wrinkles (depending on concentration and type of agent used, except for deep furrows), solar lentigines (age spots, freckles), and photodamage in general. Chemical peels commonly involve carbolic acid (Phenol), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), glycolic acid (AHA), or salicylic acid (BHA) as the active agent.
* Labiaplasty: surgical reduction and reshaping of the labia
* Lip enhancement: surgical improvement of lips' fullness through enlargement
* Rhinoplasty ("nose job"): reshaping of the nose
* Otoplasty ("ear surgery"/"ear pinning"): reshaping of the ear, most often done by pinning the protruding ear closer to the head. Performed on both children and adults to decrease social anxiety and is done for purely cosmetic purposes contrary to popular belief that it improves hearing.
* Rhytidectomy ("face lift"): removal of wrinkles and signs of aging from the face
o Browplasty ("brow lift" or "forehead lift"): elevates eyebrows, smooths forehead skin
o Midface lift ("cheek lift"): tightening of the cheeks
* Suction-assisted lipectomy ("liposuction"): removal of fat from the body
* Chin augmentation ("chin implant"): augmentation of the chin with an implant, usually silicone, by sliding genioplasty of the jawbone or by suture of the soft tissue
* Cheek augmentation ("cheek implant"): implants to the cheek
* LeFort fractures: craniofacial manipulations
* Fillers injections: collagen, fat, and other tissue filler injections, such as hyaluronic acid
* Laser skin resurfacing