What is "cosmesis"

n. 1 The preservation, restoration, or bestowing of physical beauty, especially to the human body. 2 The correction of disfigurement, as by surgery or tattooing. 3 The results of cosmetic procedures or interventions. 4 A procedure or intervention to improve appearance. 5 The creation of life-like prosthetic limbs. 6 A prosthetic limb with life-like appearance.

Cosmesis is the preservation, restoration, or bestowing of bodily beauty. In the medical context, it usually refers to the surgical correction of a disfiguring defect, or the cosmetic improvements made by a surgeon following incisions. Its use is generally limited to the additional, usually minor, steps that the surgeon (who is generally operating for noncosmetic indications) takes to improve the aesthetic appearance of the scars associated with the operation. Typical actions include removal of damaged tissue, mitigation of tension on the wound, and/or using fine (thin) sutures to close the outer layer of skin.

Cosmetic surgery is the portion of plastic surgery that concerns itself with the elective improvement of cosmesis.