mammaplasty

Mammaplasty (also called mammoplasty or mastoplasty) refers to a group of surgical procedures, the goal of which is to reshape or otherwise modify the appearance of the breast. There are three main types of mammoplasty: Augmentation mammaplasty is commonly performed to increase the size, change the shape, and/or alter the texture of the breasts. This usually involves the surgical implantation of breast implants. Reduction mammaplasty is commonly performed to reduce the size, change the shape, and/or alter the texture of the breasts. This involves the removal of breast tissue. Reconstructive mammoplasty is breast reconstruction that is done after mastectomy to give the breasts an appearance that is more normal/familiar.

== Social context == Mammaplasty started as a surgical procedure to help relieve women of the excess weight of their breasts; it was only later that it was used for cosmetic purposes. There is social pressure on women to subscribe to socially prescribed beauty standards of how their bodies must be, and one part of this is the pressure on women to have 'perfect breasts'. Earlier records of such surgery were either for medical purposes or to make a person fit in more easily with a certain social group. It was in the beginning of the 20th century that Hippolyte Morestin and Eugene Hollander started breast reduction (reduction mammoplasty) for beauty purposes only. By the 1930s though, breast reduction had become more of aesthetic surgery than reconstructive surgery.