Common Plastic Surgery Terms
- Abdominoplasty
- a more aggressive and comprehensive tummy tuck procedure, abdominoplasty involves the resection of extra skin and fatty tissue of the abdomen and may include repositioning of the umbilicus and some degree of fascial reinforcement. Abdominoplasty usually results in a transverse (hip to hip) incision.
- Anchor pattern incision
- type of breast reduction incision with an anchor appearance. Incisions are made in a circular shape around the areola, vertically from the areola down the front of the breast to the chest wall, and horizontally along the breast crease
- Anterior
- front
- Areola
- circular, pigmented area of skin that surrounds the nipple
- Bariatric surgery
- weightloss surgery, also known as obesity surgery
- Blepharoplasty
- also known as eyelid surgery, a procedure performed to reduce loose or wrinkled upper eyelid skin and lessen lower eyelid puffiness
- Circumferential
- circular, round
- Endoscopic
- procedures performed using an endoscope, a tiny viewing device that allows for minimized incisions and scarring
- Epigastric and umbilical hernia
- defects of the anterior abdominal wall through which tissues or organs may protrude
- Fascial laxity
- weakness of the connective bands of tissue located between the skin and the underlying structure of muscle and bone
- Free fat grafting
- also called free fat transfer, this is a procedure which removes surplus fat cells from one area of the body and then reimplants them in another
- Hernia
- an opening or weakness in the fascial structure of the wall of the abdomen
- Hypertrophy
- abnormal enlargement of a body part or organ
- Hyperkinetic
- excessive motion or movement
- Inferior pedicle breast reduction
- breast reduction technique that maintains the blood and nerve supply from the bottom of the breast.
- Inframammary Fold
- breast augmentation incision made in the breast crease
- Infraumbilical midline incisions
- below the belly button vertical incisions
- Jowling
- drooping or sagging of the flesh under the lower jaw
- Keloid
- a raised formation of fibrous scar tissue caused by excessive tissue repair in response to trauma or incision
- Liposuction
- also called lipoplasty, or suctionassisted lipoplasty, liposuction refers to the surgical removal of fatty deposits using a suction device
- Mastectomy
- surgical remove of a breast as a treatment for breast cancer
- Mastopexy
- breast lift surgery, performed to restore a youthful contour by reshaping and coning the breast and repositioning it higher on the chest wall
- Otoplasty
- ear surgery or ear pinning, procedure performed to reduce the size, reposition, or reshape the ears
- Pectoralis
- chest wall muscle
- Periareolar
- breast augmentation incision made around the nippleareolar complex
- Platysmal banding
- sagging and banding of neck muscles
- Plication
- means to fold. The fascia of the abdominal wall is folded in with sutures to make it narrower in the desired dimension
- Posterior flanks
- the back side of the body between the pelvis or hip and the ribs
- Postpartum involution
- reduction in size after childbirth, often refers to decreased breast size or volume after pregnancy
- Ptosis
- drooping or sagging
- Resection
- surgical removal of all or part of an organ, tissue, or structure
- SMAS elevation
- facelift technique that targets the Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System the muscles and connective tissues of the cheek.
- Subglandular/subfascial breast augmentation
- implants placed over the pectoralis muscle
- Superior pole hollowing
- loss of volume in the upper part of the breast
- Telangiectasias
- spider veins; red, blue, or purple veins with a weblike appearance
- Torsoplasty
- contouring the entire soft tissue envelope (front and back) of the of the trunk and pelvis extends to adjoining anatomic areas of the hips, buttocks, thighs, lower back, and pelvis
- Transaxillary
- breast augmentation incision located in the under arm
- Transconjunctival blepharoplasty
- lower eyelid surgery technique that minimizes lower eyelid puffiness with no visible scarring
- Transverse incision
- side to side/crosswise incision
- Tummy tuck
- simplest and most direct form of abdominoplasty
- Umbilical translocation
- belly button repositioning
- Umbilicus
- navel or belly button
- Upper pole fullness
- roundness or fullness in the upper half of the breast
- Vertical mastopexy
- breast lift technique used to correct moderate ptosis, also known as short scar breast lift surgery