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Why is Plastic Surgery Called "Plastic Surgery"?
Plastic surgery takes its name from the idea of molding or giving form, not from the use of synthetic plastic. In this episode, Darren M. Smith, MD, a plastic surgeon in New York City, explains how that meaning connects cosmetic surgery with reconstruction after injury, illness or a difference present at birth.
In this episode.
Episode summary
Plastic surgery takes its name from the idea of molding or giving form, not from the use of synthetic plastic. In this episode, Darren M. Smith, MD, a plastic surgeon in New York City, explains how that meaning connects cosmetic surgery with reconstruction after injury, illness or a difference present at birth.
The discussion moves from the specialty's historical roots to modern operations involving skin, fat, muscle and bone. Its central idea is that plastic surgeons work with tissue to improve form, function or both.
Key takeaways
🔎 The name describes shaping.
The Greek root plastikos refers to molding or giving form. Synthetic materials do not define the specialty.
🔎 Reconstructive and aesthetic surgery share techniques.
Reconstruction addresses missing, damaged or differently developed structures; aesthetic surgery focuses on changes to appearance.
🔎 Microsurgery expands reconstructive options.
Dr. Smith describes using a microscope to reconnect tiny blood vessels when transferring tissue, including an example involving breast reconstruction.
🔎 Craniofacial surgery addresses the head and face.
Examples in the recording include cleft lip and palate and differences in skull development.
🔎 Training can connect these fields.
Dr. Smith discusses how his craniofacial and aesthetic fellowships inform his approach to facial anatomy and surgery.
Questions this episode answers
Does plastic surgery always involve implants or artificial materials?
No. The name refers to reshaping tissue. The episode describes operations that work with a person's own tissues, including reconstructive tissue transfer and craniofacial surgery.
Is all plastic surgery cosmetic?
No. Cosmetic surgery is one part of a broader specialty. Reconstruction can address function as well as appearance, and the recording explains why knowledge from reconstructive work can inform aesthetic procedures.
Historical reference: The American Society of Plastic Surgeons' history of the specialty provides additional background on the name and the relationship between aesthetic and reconstructive surgery.
🔗 Related information
Explore Dr. Smith’s background and training, facial plastic surgery, breast surgery, or request a consultation with Dr. Smith in New York City.
Originally released July 4, 2020. Show notes updated September 30, 2026. This is general education. Current recommendations, suitability, risks and expected results require an individual assessment.
Original show notes
Board certified NYC plastic surgeon Dr. Darren Smith discusses the origins of the term "plastic surgery" and of the field itself.
Read the conversation.
[00:08] I'm board certified New York City plastic surgeon, Dr. Darren Smith, and this is plastic surgery before and after. Your source for the real deal about plastic surgery procedures, news about trends in aesthetic medicine, and candid sessions with industry insiders. We hope you enjoy today's episode. Why is plastic surgery called plastic surgery? It really doesn't have anything to do with the synthetic material plastic. In fact, The term plastic surgery goes back to the ancient Greek word plasticos, which essentially means the ability to be molded. And we can start to understand why plastic surgery is called plastic surgery, deriving from the term plasticos. If we look as far back as the 6th century BC to a physician in India named Sushutra, And he is widely credited with performing one of the first true plastic surgery procedures, which was reconstruction of the nose with the forehead flap. And in this operation, tissue from the forehead was used to reconstruct severe nasal defects. And this operation was so successful that it's often used to this day.
[01:35] The person widely thought of as the father of plastic surgery is Gaspar Tagliacuzzi, and he lived in Italy in the 1500s. Tagliacuzzi became quite famous for his answer to the question, what do plastic surgeons do? And he said that we restore, rebuild, and make whole those parts which nature hath given. but which fortune has taken away, not so much that it may delight the eye, but that it might buoy up the spirit and help the mind of the afflicted. All of this conversation around what plastic surgery actually is and what plastic surgeons do happened well before the world's first fully synthetic plastic was even created. And this material was called Bakelite, which was invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Bakeland. And he's the individual who actually coined the term plastics. Tagliacotti's definition of plastic surgery rings true to this day. However, it only tells part of the story of modern plastic surgery.
[02:45] Takli Okotsi was really describing reconstructive plastic surgery. And that is the discipline in which we are in fact charged with restoring the form and function of the human body from head to toe. And reconstructive plastic surgery has further subspecialties, including microsurgery, which is essentially the transplantation of tissue from one part of the body to another. And it's called microsurgery because microscope is used to connect extremely small blood vessels down to one to two millimeters in diameter from the donor tissue to the recipient site and a common example of this is use of abdominal soft tissue to reconstruct the breasts after mastectomy. Surgery of the bones and soft tissue of the hand can also be considered a form of reconstructive surgery.
[03:40] And finally, craniofacial surgery or surgery of the soft tissue and bones of the face to address congenital problems such as cleft lip and cleft palate or malformations of the skull like craniosynostosis. And just for background, a cleft lip or cleft palate occurs when a child is born in such a way that the two sides of the lip or the top of the mouth didn't fuse during development and craniosynostosis occurs when the growth plates of the skull fuse too early leading to abnormal skull shapes and sometimes even increased pressure inside the skull which could lead to developmental and neurological problems. And now we've taken what we've learned from reconstructive surgery and Taglia Cozzi's definition and extended it into the realm of aesthetic surgery where we are performing procedures to improve upon already normal body parts and body shapes to make them more pleasing in appearance.
[04:48] And what's interesting is there's often a very strong relationship between the principles of reconstructive surgery and the principles of aesthetic surgery. And this is something that I've studied a great deal as I've done subspecialty fellowship training in both craniofacial surgery and aesthetic surgery. And a wonderful example of this is rhinoplasty or nose job surgery. Some of the most difficult rhinoplasties or nose doves that we ever perform in plastic surgery are those that we need to do in the context of a cleft lip. And these procedures are so difficult because when the upper lip does not form completely during development, the entire structure of the nose is affected as well.
[05:36] And when I do an aesthetic rhinoplasty, I take many of the principles and techniques that I've learned from performing many very difficult cleft rhinoplasties and I apply them to aesthetic procedures. So to ask a question related to why is plastic surgery called plastic surgery, I'll go ahead and also ask, what is plastic surgery? And the answer isn't as straightforward as, for example, the answer to the question, what is cardiac surgery? Well, that's surgery of the heart. What is pulmonary surgery? Well, that's surgery of the lungs. What is orthopedic surgery? Well, that's surgery of the bones. But in plastic surgery, we operate on almost every tissue of the body. We operate on skin. We operate on bones. We operate on muscle. And this led to what I think is a very clever answer to the question, what is plastic surgery? Plastic surgery is surgery of the skin and its contents. And those procedures today are performed both for reconstructive surgery, as Taglia Cozzi conceived it, and for aesthetic surgery as well. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to subscribe, share the show, and head over to darrensmithmd.com for more real world plastic surgery talk.
Sources and context.
Original Captivate episode. Original release date: 2020-07-04. The recording is the source for the transcript and episode discussion. Later context in the written summary is identified separately.
Behind the conversation.
Darren M. Smith, MD, FACS