Many Americans get plastic surgery each year, and they do so for a multitude of reasons.
Some do it to improve parts of their body that do not fit their ideal body image, while others do it for health reasons or to reconstruct their bodies after an injury or accident.
According to medical websites, the five most common types of plastic surgery are lipoplasty, eyelid reconstruction and lifting, breast augmentation, nose jobs, and facelifts.
These surgeries all target different parts of the body and have different recovery times.
Lipoplasty, more commonly known as liposuction, is a way to sculpt the body by removing stubborn pockets of fat.
To perform the procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision in the relevant part of the patient's body and vacuums out the excess fat through a tube.
Side effects include swelling, bruising, and some numbness where the incision was made.
The recovery time is fairly quick.
Eyelid lifting is a way to reshape eyelids that have begun sagging or drooping.
The procedure will remove bagginess and can tighten loose skin around the eyelids.
However, it doesn't remove fine wrinkle lines.
The aftereffects of the procedure can include swelling or bruising around the eyelids, and the symptoms will generally take a couple weeks to disappear.
Blurred vision is also common, but this is temporary.
Breast augmentation involves either implanting saline-filled cups into a woman's breasts, lifting and reshaping the existing mammary tissue, or reducing the size of a woman's breasts.
There are many different types of breast augmentation surgeries, meaning that women should do research and consult with a surgeon before deciding on a procedure.
This type of plastic surgery generally has a long recovery period as well.
A nose job, or rhinoplasty, involves reshaping the nose by removing skin and restructuring the bone or cartilage underneath.
The procedure generally leaves the face quite bruised and swollen, so people who get this type of plastic surgery will want to avoid extensive movement for a few days after the procedure is completed.
After two or three days, the bruising and swelling will diminish, but it may not disappear completely for several weeks.
The goal of a facelift is to lift and reshape sagging skin, which reduces wrinkles and laugh lines to make the patient look more youthful.
There are many different types of facelifts, and each combats different problems and features a varying level of invasiveness.
Some facelifts require deeper incisions than others, which can affect the effectiveness of the procedure as well as how long the procedure will last before it needs to be redone.
A facelift can cause swelling, bruising, and severe facial numbness.
These effects can last several weeks.
Additionally, it is advised that people who have received facelifts avoid sunlight for three days after the procedure.
No matter what type of procedure you are interested in getting, you should consult with a surgeon or doctor.
They will be able to determine if you would be a good candidate and if the operation will effectively help you reach your aesthetic goals.