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Health Care Providers: Plastic Surgeons

Medically reviewed by: KidsHealth Medical Experts

What Is Plastic Surgery?

Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on improving how parts of the body look or work.

What Is a Plastic Surgeon?

A plastic surgeon is a doctor who does surgery to repair, rebuild, or replace a part of the body to improve how it looks or works.

Why Would Someone Need One?

Plastic surgeons can help with:

  • burn repair surgery
  • a congenital (present at birth) problem repair, such as for cleft palate or ear anomalies
  • hand surgery
  • scar revision (to make a scar less noticeable)
  • breast-reduction surgery
  • cosmetic surgery, such as reshaping the nose or pinning back the ears so they don’t stick out
  • gender reassignment surgery (when someone feels their body doesn't match their gender identity)