All glossary terms
Clinical Care & Specialties

Plastic Surgery

A surgical specialty focused on reconstructing or altering body tissues, encompassing both reconstructive procedures after injury or disease and elective cosmetic surgery. Many plastic surgery cases are performed in ambulatory surgery centers and office-based settings.

What is Plastic Surgery?

Plastic Surgery is a surgical specialty concerned with repairing, reconstructing, or altering body tissues. It covers reconstructive work, such as restoring form and function after trauma, burns, or cancer surgery, as well as elective cosmetic procedures that change appearance.

Practitioners complete extensive surgical training and may further subspecialize in areas like hand, craniofacial, or aesthetic surgery. The field blends technical surgical skill with attention to both function and appearance.

How is Plastic Surgery relevant to ambulatory surgery centers?

Many plastic surgery procedures are well suited to ambulatory surgery centers and office-based surgical suites, where they can be performed safely on an outpatient basis. This makes the specialty a meaningful contributor to outpatient surgical volume.

Cosmetic cases are often elective and paid out of pocket, while reconstructive cases are typically billed to insurance, so the two carry very different revenue-cycle dynamics. Distinguishing them correctly is important for accurate patient financial handling and billing.

Also searched as
  • what is plastic surgery
  • plastic surgery meaning
  • reconstructive surgery
  • cosmetic surgery vs plastic surgery
  • plastic surgery definition
  • plastic surgery procedures
  • plastic surgeon
Related in Clinical Care & Specialties
Browse the full glossary