Cosmetic surgery usually involves changes to the face, chest, abdomen and hips. In the following you will find an overview of the most common cosmetic surgery procedures:
The most common cosmetic operations
- Eyelid correction
- Ear correction
- Rhinoplasty
- Lip correction
- Breast surgery (breast lift, breast augmentation, breast reduction)
- Liposuction (liposuction)
- Hair Transplantation
- Wrinkle treatment/lifting
- Tightening of belly, legs, arms
This method is one of the most frequent procedures in cosmetic surgery for 40-60 year old patients and is used especially for slipped eyelids. In order to tighten the eye area on the upper or lower eyelid, excess skin as well as excess fat and muscle tissue is removed. The procedure is usually performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia and takes about 1-3 hours.
The remaining tissue is closed again with fine sutures. The risks of this procedure are low. A rare but serious complication is the injury of the eyelid lifting muscle, which can lead to dry eyes.
However, this can usually be remedied by conservative measures without additional surgery. Bleeding and swelling usually subside by themselves, wound infections rarely occur. An ear correction is the reduction of the size of the auricle or the creation of protruding ears.
While an excessively large auricle is rare and should only be corrected after growth has been completed, the protruding ear is a common deformity in the head area. In otoplasty, the skin is first partially detached from the cartilaginous auricle, so that the underlying cartilage can be thinned or incised. Once the desired cartilage shape is achieved, the result is fixed with the help of certain sutures and additionally supported by a head bandage for about three days.
After the treatment, a headband must be worn for a few more weeks so that the correct healing can take place. Hematoma formation (bruising) and wound infections are possible but rare complications of this cosmetic surgery. Here, the external shape of the nose is altered by enlarging, reducing or changing the shape of the bridge of the nose, the turbinates or the entrance to the nose.
In addition to nose correction as part of cosmetic surgery, this procedure may also be necessary to improve nasal breathing or in the case of facial malformations. The cartilaginous and bony nasal skeleton and in some cases the nasal septum are corrected. First the mucous membrane or skin must be detached from the structures before cartilage and bone can be modulated to the desired shape.
The operation is usually performed under general anesthesia, which is why a short hospital stay of 1-2 days is recommended. Tamponades of both nostrils stabilize the new shape of the nose after the operation. Bleeding or post-operative bleeding are possible complications of this procedure, and corrections may be necessary.
The final healing may take up to a year, during which time small changes in shape may still occur. Bald areas on the head or other parts of the body are filled up with hair roots from the back of the head/neck during this operation, so that hair grows there again after about 3 months. First, the hair roots are exposed through a small incision in the neck, before they are implanted individually or in groups of 2-3 roots at the desired location in skin tubules.
The donor site is sutured. It can take up to 3 months until the hair roots regenerate at the new location with subsequent hair growth. This operation takes 2-4 hours and is performed under local anesthesia.
The risk of infection is reduced by the administration of antibiotics during the procedure. In addition, this cosmetic surgery has few risks. Lip plastic surgery is used for cleft lips and palate, but is also often offered as a cosmetic operation, especially on the upper lip.
A distinction is made between the lifting of the upper lip (lip lift), the reduction and enlargement of the lip. To lift the upper lip, an incision is made above the red of the lip and a narrow strip of skin is removed above the lip. Then the skin, which has been detached from the lip red, is pulled up and fixed with thin sutures.
An enlargement of the lip can be achieved by padding. In this process, the patient’s own fat, connective tissue, biological or plastic materials are used as material, which is introduced into the tissue through an incision or an injection to increase the volume.When reducing the size of the lip, an incision is made on the inside of the lip, where a piece of mucous membrane with underlying connective tissue is removed and the two wound edges are then closed. Any cosmetic surgery on the lip carries the risk of visible scarring and deformation and a feeling of numbness.
In addition, especially during padding, infections can be carried over into the wound. These procedures are usually performed on an outpatient basis and last up to an hour. Through facelifting (face lift, face lift) the appearance of the facial area is to be rejuvenated by up to 12 years.
A multi-layered operation method is usually used for this purpose, in order to avoid changes in facial expression or facial expressions by simply tightening the skin layer. In addition to the skin itself, the deeper layers (muscles, connective and fatty tissue) are exposed and tightened. In the cheek area, especially the sunken cheek fat is lifted and the muscles for lifting the mouth are tightened, in the neck area the neck muscle is tightened over a large area.
Often the face lift is combined with a forehead lift, where the sunken eyebrows are lifted again. The incision for this is made along the border between forehead and hair, either in front of or behind the auricle and ends in the hairy neck area, thus avoiding conspicuous scars. The cosmetic surgery can be performed under general or local anesthesia during a stay at the clinic.
Risks such as secondary bleeding or nerve damage rarely occur. During an abdominoplasty, the skin of the upper abdomen is pulled down and excess tissue is removed. The navel is then reimplanted before the skin flaps are sutured.
During an abdominoplasty, a visible scar is created, which runs between the two iliac crests. This is a major operation with the risk of major blood loss, which is why the patient must be sufficiently healthy. An upper arm lift is often combined with liposuction (liposuction) on the upper arm to remove flabby tissue.
After the liposuction, excess tissue is removed, whereby the scar size and shape varies greatly. When lifting the thigh, excess tissue is removed; in some cases, liposuction is also used for this purpose. The size and shape of the scar varies and is adapted to the shape of the thigh.
This cosmetic surgery is usually applied to the buttocks, abdomen or thighs. First, fluid is injected into the surgical area to fill the subcutaneous fat tissue. Fatty tissue is then sucked out through a cannula.
The scar is only closed with a plaster and the remaining fluid and blood is drained for a few days by means of a drainage. In addition, a bodice must be worn for some time in the appropriate place to support the formation of scar tissue. The formation of scar tissue results in shrinking of the excess skin.
The procedure is very stressful for the cardiovascular system, which is why a short stay at the clinic should be planned after the cosmetic surgery. The complications are skin irregularities and sensations in the area of the operation, and there is also an increased risk of infection. Only after 3-4 months can the cosmetic result be finally assessed.
To enlarge the breast, implants with a silicone sheath are usually inserted, which are filled with saline solution or silicone gel. For this purpose, an incision is made in the armpit, in the breast fold or in the area of the areola. The implant can be inserted either directly under the mammary gland or under the breast muscle.
This cosmetic surgery is performed under general anesthesia. A support bra must be worn for 6 weeks after the operation. In addition to the general risks of the operation, capsule fibrosis may occur more frequently during breast augmentation.
Scar tissue forms around the silicone implant, which can lead to hardening, deformation and pain in the breast. This complication can also occur several years after the operation, which may require another operation. Breast reduction surgery can be performed both as cosmetic surgery and therapeutically.
General anesthesia is required for the operation. The incision depends on the breast; usually the incision goes along the areola and from there down to the breast fold. Glandular and fatty tissue as well as excess skin is removed before the nipple and areola are repositioned.Besides the general risks, wound healing disorders (especially in the nipple area) and visible scars are particular complications of this method.
In a breast lift, sagging, sagging breasts are lifted and reshaped. The nipples are re-inserted higher, which makes them look more youthful. Depending on the patient’s wishes, the breast can be reduced or enlarged.
However, if pregnancy occurs during the course of the treatment, the breasts may become saggy again. In a labia reduction, the inner labia are shortened surgically or with the help of laser treatment. A hymen reconstruction is the surgical restoration of the hymen.
