Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery - Costa Rica

Costa Rica has grown a lot in surgery during the last couple of decades, though is also fair to say that we have always been considered one of the best latin american countries in medicine and health. One of our main State Universities, Universidad de Costa Rica has been widely recognized for graduating some of the finest surgeons in the world, some of whom actually live and work in the U.S.

One of our finest and most respected surgeons, Chief of Surgery at one of our main Hospitals, Dr. Longino Soto Pacheco is flown regularly to the U.S. to perform open heart surgery.

Plastic Cosmetic is also known as a subcategory of surgery that uniquely restricts itself to the enhancement of appearance of the person. In most of the cases the pacient wants a enhancement and restoring of the normal appearance reaching some kind of aesthetic ideal.

Some of the most common surgeries in Costa Rica are:

Abdominoplasty: reshaping and firming of the abdomen area.

Blepharoplasty: Reshaping of the eyelids bythe application of permanent eyeliner.

Breast augmentation: This commonly known among women as the "boob job" or the augmentation of the breasts. In most of the cases this involve saline or silicone gel prosthetics. Nowadays, it is used as something cosmetic but initially was performed to women with micromastia among other deficiencies.

Breast reduction: or the removal of skin and glandular tissue. It is used to reduce back and shoulder pain in women. Definitly is known as a psychological benefit in women with big breasts.

Breast lift (Mastopexy): Lifting or reshaping of breasts to make them less saggy, often after weight loss (after a pregnancy, for example). It involves removal of breast skin as opposed to glandular tissue.

Butt Implants: Enhancement of the buttocks by using silicone implants or fat transfer from other areas of the body.

Chemical peel: Treatment for minimizing the appearance of acne, pock, and other scars in the face. It is also used for solar lentigines (age spots, freckles), and photodamage in general. The chemical peels treatment involve carbolic acid (Phenol), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), glycolic acid (AHA), or salicylic acid (BHA) as active agent.

Labiaplasty: Surgical reduction and reshaping of the labia

Rhinoplasty: Commonly known as the "nose job". It consist in a reshaping of the nose for people with breathing problems and other weakness inside the nose area.

Otoplasty (or ear surgery): Reshaping of the ear. It's not a recostruction of the auditive system. It's only a aesthetic procedure.

Rhytidectomy (or "face lift"): Removal of wrinkles and signs of aging from the face

Liposuction: Removal of fat from different areas of the body

Chin augmentation: Augmentation of the chin with an silicone implant or by sliding genioplasty of the jawbone.