In recent years, technology has transformed the practice of facial plastic surgery. In skillful hands, these amplified beams of light can vaporize blemishes and birthmarks once thought to be permanent. They can smooth acne scars and iron out wrinkles, and they provide surgeons with an alternative way to create a natural hairline when transplanting tiny, hair-bearing grafts to balding areas of the scalp. Other tools and techniques allow surgeons to give the face and neck more pleasing contours. Facelifts can now tighten underlying tissue and muscles as well as skin, creating a natural look quite unlike the stretched look of earlier days.
Liposuction can remove fatty deposits from areas resistant to diet and exercise.
Natural and synthetic fillers can plump up deep furrows and wrinkles, and a vast array of implants can give new definition to flat cheeks, receding chins, and underprojected noses. If technology has advanced cosmetic surgery, it has produced even greater wonders for reconstructive surgery. Advances in microvascular surgery have made it possible to transplant nerves and have increased the survival of grafts and flaps used to replace damaged or destroyed skin or tissue. The amount of healthy skin available to cover an injured area can now be increased with balloon-like devices called tissue expanders. Broken or shattered facial bones can be repaired by attaching wires to tiny screws placed in healthy bone, or by fixing metal rods or plates over the fracture, among other techniques.