According to information on plastic reconstructive surgery, reconstructive surgery is the oldest form of plastic surgery that was developed because of injured soldiers during war. Reconstructive surgery is performed on either patients with congenital deformities or developmental deformities and all patients should obtain as much information on plastic reconstructive surgery before determining if it will be beneficial. There is a wide range of reconstructive surgery procedures that can be performed depending on the severity of the deformities.

There have been major strides in the amount of information on plastic reconstructive surgery throughout the years, most notably within the last decade. The ability to perform surgical techniques as minimally invasive and with the least amount of post-surgical downtime has greatly improved, with the availability of optics, new materials, and an increased understanding of the human body and how it works. As even more information on plastic reconstructive surgery is discovered, the ability to improve functioning and appearance of severely disfigured and injured patients even more will become a reality.

Researchers are trying to develop the technology that would allow body part transplants the same way an organ would be transplanted today. The ability to gain this information on plastic reconstructive surgery can potentially lead to replacing hands, arms, entire faces, which is also being researched, as well as other parts on patients with severe disfigurement. Reconstructive surgery has allowed patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses and injuries to restore a more "normal" look.