A nose job, which is a type of nose surgery known as 'rhinoplasty,' is one kind of plastic surgery. Plastic surgery procedures are used to reshape the appearance of body parts. Plastic surgery can sculpt a wide range of body areas, not just noses.
Along with nose jobs, the most popular plastic surgery procedures are those performed on the breasts, ears, eyes, face, and stomach. A nose job can also be called "plastic surgery of the nose," underlining the fact that it's just one of the many possible plastic surgery procedures.
Sometimes, 'plastic surgery' is used to refer to reconstructive procedures, while 'cosmetic surgery' refers to those performed strictly for aesthetic reasons. A nose job, able to correct both aesthetic concerns and structural defects, can fall into both categories. 'Cosmetic surgery' and 'plastic surgery' can be used interchangeably when talking about a nose job procedure.
Although many believe that the use of the word 'plastic' in 'plastic surgery' implies that the procedure must use a synthetic implant to achieve the desired effect, this is not the case. Although implants are used in some cases, notably for breast augmentation, many nose surgeries involve the reshaping of natural bone and cartilage without the addition of any 'plastic.' In fact, the origin of the term plastic surgery does not refer to these implanted devices; instead, it comes from the Greek word plastikos, which means 'able to be molded.'
Although traditional nose jobs are all considered to be plastic surgery, there is an alternative for those who don't want to go under the knife. A procedure using injections of a facial filler to cause subtle changes in the shape of the nose is considered to be a non-surgical nose job. As such, it falls outside the realm of plastic surgery, unlike traditional surgical nose jobs.
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