You will be surprised as to how many misconceptions are cleared in the initial consultation itself for the patients. This is perhaps because of the existence of innumerable myths of plastic surgery today. In this blog, we shed light on some of the most common facts and myths of plastic surgeries.

Myth #4: One of the biggest myths of plastic surgery is about the materials surgeons use to perform the surgery and why is it termed as ‘Plastic Surgery’. People think that it is the plastic that is being used.

Reality: It is not so. The term plastic surgery is derived from Roman word ‘Plasty’ which means repair, and plastic surgeons are very good at repairing tissues and solving the problem which is caused either by cancer or injury or other various reasons. Having said that we also use some implant materials which is not exactly plastic, but mostly silicon. It is used in different surgeries, for example, to augment the breasts, restore the shape of the nose, improve the prominence of the cheek and in various other places as well.

Myth #3: Plastic surgery is scarless.

Reality: Nature is such that any cut in the tissue always heals but leaves behind a scar, and in obvious areas, you cannot hide it. Many times, when plastic surgeons perform surgery in certain areas, it is possible to hide the scar. So, people often misinterpret it as a scarless surgery

In case of chin surgery, a cut is placed inside the lip, so that the scar remains inside the mouth, resulting in a scarless skin on the chin. The same goes for the nose as well, as in case of a rhinoplasty or nose shaping, the cut is placed inside the nose. These are rare occasions when scars can be hidden. Most of the times these scars are obvious, but again due to use of finer techniques and better tissue handling, the scars we produce are of better quality. If the scars are aligned parallel to the skin tension lines (natural skin creases such as smile lines or crow’s feet near eyes) the scars tend to heal so well that they are hard to see.  This is the best scenario, however, there are times where these scars produced by the plastic surgeons can also have an undesirable appearance. There are certain areas in the body which are prone to have bad scars, like the front of the chest, shoulder, and back. Even with the finest techniques used for wound closure some patients notice keloid (an area of irregular fibrous tissue formed at the site of a scar or injury) scars. There are ways to treat such undesirable scars as well. There are certain innate tendencies or constitution of the person, race, and type of injury are some factors that dictate what type of scars one may have.

Myth #2: Tissues from another person can be used for plastic surgery.

Reality: Quite often the patients for hair transplant, especially the young men who come with unusual balding (from a young age) ask if we can use hair from a relative. This is not possible because the transplanted hair will get rejected. One needs to perform certain tests to see if an organ donated will survive in the person receiving it. This is called tissue typing. For certain organs like kidney it is relatively simple but for tissues like skin and hair, the tissue typing is more complex and hence not easy to transfer or transplant tissue.

Myth #1: Plastic surgeons can totally change a person.

Reality: This is a common misconception caused by movies. In reality, it is possible to change the appearance of the person, but not so dramatically that the person looks totally different or unrecognizable. The whole aim of plastic surgery is to repair the tissues which are not functioning so that the person with a problem is able to use that part for example hand injury. This reconstructive surgery is done to restore the function and many times to reconstruct a part of the body that is removed because of cancer or is absent since the birth or damaged due to an accident.  On the other hand, people who simply want to change their looks opt for cosmetic (aesthetic) surgery and enhance their appearance and thereby achieve physiological well-being.