Plastic Reconstructive Surgery is a very general branch of surgery, with a panoply of subfields. All cosmetic procedures can be done by the plastic surgeon. This includes all procedural cosmetology, such as lasers, fillers, botox, peels, thread lifts, and hair transplants, which are also performed by dermatologists. Additionally, plastic surgeons perform other procedures like rhinoplasty, body shaping, liposuction, facelifts, and gynecomastia surgery.

Cosmetics Surgery is just a small part of Plastic Surgery. The Plastic Reconstructive Surgeon is an irreplaceable member of every trauma team worth its salt. In fact, it might be the department doing the maximum number of procedures in any major trauma centre, with facial trauma, lacerations, replantations, microvascular surgery, hand surgery, extremity reconstruction, large wounds, skin grafts, and other procedures keeping them busy.

Plastic surgeons serve as hand surgeons for a variety of injuries and afflictions of the hand, in addition to orthopaedic surgeons. Cancer is another vast area. Head and Neck Cancers- the finer reconstructions often require microsurgery. Breast reconstruction including oncoplasty for breast cancer is common. Burns alone is a very large and challenging area. Diabetic foot surgery, peripheral and extremity tumours and major vessels surgery are some of those areas that many plastic surgeons routinely do, though other specialities overlap on these.

The field is extensive, covering lymphoedema, vascular malformations, congenital lesions, cleft lip and palate, brachial plexus injuries, and many others. The list goes on, underscoring the vastness of this field.