Chicago, Illinois is home to 76 practicing plastic surgeons who have offices in 2 counties and 23 zip codes, including zip codes 60611, 60612, 60637, 60601, 60614, 60657, 60608, 60625, 60622, 60617, 60631, 60707, 60640, 60678, 60675, 60674, 60673, 60634, 60629, 60616, 60613, 60610, and 60602.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Chicago has a population of 2,842,518, which gives it a specialist to resident ratio of 1 plastic surgeon for every 37,401 residents.

Most people think that Chicago, because of its size and popularity, is Illinois’ capital city, but that distinction belongs to Springfield, home of the Abraham Lincoln Museum. Illinois has hundreds of museums, numerous yearly art and ethnic festivals, a lakeshore bordering Lake Michigan, and the many national forests and parks that offers visitors camping, horseback riding, biking, kayaking, and fishing. Chicago is home to the Sears Tower, the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Adler Planetarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, and other cultural opportunities and restaurants in the Navy Pier area.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Illinois has a population of 12,763,371. Of this population, 3,172,677 are under the age of 18 and 1,523,937 are at or above the age of 65.

Description

Plastic surgery is surgery to repair or reconstruct physical defects of the skin, head and body. A plastic surgeon performs structural cosmetic surgery for aesthetic reasons to change the shape of features on the head or body, or can perform reconstructive surgery to correct deformities of the head or body caused by injury, disease, or birth defects. This specialist deals with the repair, reconstruction, or replacement of physical defects involving the skin, musculoskeletal system, hand, extremities, breast, trunk and external genitalia. The plastic surgeon uses aesthetic surgical principles not only to improve undesirable qualities of normal structures, but in all reconstructive procedures as well.

Diseases / Illnesses Treated

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are burns, acne, birth defects, wrinkles, pock, and mucosa defects.

Procedures Performed

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including cosmetic surgery, reconstructive surgery, mastectomy, suction-assisted lipectomy (liposuction), augmentation mammaplasty (breast enlargement or boob job), mesotherapy, mastopexy (breast lift), rhytidectomy (face lift), rhinoplasty (nose job), vaginoplasty, chemical peel, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), labiaplasty, breast reconstruction, chin augmentation, sex reassignment surgery, microsurgery, fat injections, buttock augmentation (butt augmentation or butt implants), and cheek augmentation.

Tests Performed

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including  breast exam, skin test, atropine test, and fluorescein test.