While plastic surgery has been a common solution to cosmetic problems of all kinds for many decades, some people have purposefully avoided it out of fear of pain and long recovery times. While this may have been a risk at one point, over the years, plastic surgery has become much less invasive, resulting in quicker recovery times, less discomfort, and faster results. If you want to know how plastic surgery has improved for patients over the years, here's what you should know.

Microsurgery

One of the main reasons plastic surgery is usually easier on patients these days is because surgeons have access to laparoscopic surgery. Rather than making a large incision in order to see inside the body and perform the procedure, a tiny incision is made, and a laparoscope inserted. This tool allows plastic surgeons to make adjustments to the body with much less trauma being done to the surrounding area, while still achieving the same results you would expect from traditional incision-based plastic surgery. As an added bonus, this method typically results in little to no scarring because the incisions are so small.

Face Lifts

Plastic surgery using laparoscopy is quite common these days for facelifts. Previously, facelifts were typically performed by creating an incision at the top of the face, manually pulling the skin up, trimming any excess, and then securing it back in place. These days, though, there are better options.

For example, facelifts can now be achieved with a method called thread lifts. This is where another tiny incision is made, and then small, medical-grade threads are laced under the skin. They're secured to the inside of your skin and then tugged upward, pulling your skin into a tighter and more youthful shape, with far less downtime and much smaller incisions required.

Breast Implants

Another service that uses laparoscopy is breast implants. These days, incisions don't even need to be made on or around the breast itself. In some cases, the incision is made in the navel or in the armpit. Once the tiny incision is made, an empty breast implant is threaded into the correct position under the breast, and then inflated with saline. Again, this is a much easier process to recover from and will give you the results you want without unsightly scars revealing that you ever had surgery.

If you've been putting off plastic surgery out of fear of pain or scarring, consider talking to a plastic surgeon. You'll be surprised at how many options there are now that the risks aren't as overwhelming anymore.