Plastic surgeons perform both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
They perform such tasks as breast reconstruction, reattaching limbs, and repairing severe burns. Children with birth defects are able to have their facial deformities corrected. The plastic surgery field is making significant advances. Surgeons and researchers are developing new methods of healing and restoring patients that are less painful and are less likely to scar. To become a plastic surgeon, one must complete four years of medical school, five to seven years in a postgraduate training program, and two to three years in a plastic surgery residency.