Despite the commonly-held opinion, aesthetic surgery is only one part of the whole spectrum of uses for plastic surgery. Aesthetic, or cosmetic, surgery is an optional procedure that is performed on undamaged body parts in order to give them a more pleasing appearance in the eye of the patient. Reconstructive surgery, another type of plastic surgery, is performed on damaged parts of the body in order to correct them and restore their functionality or to restore normal appearance.

The techniques used in plastic surgery include skin grafting among other techniques. Skin grafting is taking the skin from a donor who can be the recipient, another person, or a member of another species.  Other techniques used for reshaping the body include fat removal, tightening and removal of the skin, tightening the muscles, reshaping bones and implanting foreign matter into the body. One or more of these methods can be used during a procedure in order to achieve the desired outcome.