If you channel surf your television set for more than a few
hours, it’s more than likely you’ll come across one of the many
shows about people undergoing cosmetic surgery. According to the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 11 million
cosmetic surgeries were performed in 2006. These are actual
surgeries, and do not include cosmetic procedures, such as
wrinkle-filling injections. Less often, reconstructive surgery
is portrayed or discussed. But, in 2006, more than 5.2 million
people received reconstructive surgery too. This type of
surgery, in general terms, is to repair damaged or malformed
tissues, organs or bones. Sometimes, the two are hard to
separate. For instance, if a person has gone through a traumatic
situation, he or she might opt to have both reconstructive and
cosmetic surgery at the same time. For example, if a man has
broken bones in his face and body in a motorcycle accident: an
orthopedic and plastic surgeon will likely fix all the
structural damage on his body so all the parts ca