Aesthetic Plastic Surgery provides a forum for original articles advancing the art of aesthetic plastic surgery. Many describe surgical craftsmanship; others deal with complications in surgical procedures and methods by which to treat or avoid them. Coverage includes "second thoughts" on established techniques, which might be abandoned, modified, or improved. Also included are case histories; improvements in surgical instruments, pharmaceuticals, and operating room equipment; and discussions of problems such as the role of psychosocial factors in the doctor-patient and the patient-public interrelationships.

Perhaps most important is the discussion of the role of aesthetic plastic surgery as the final step in the rehabilitation of patients undergoing longstanding and tedious reconstructive surgery for the repair of congenital, acquired, accidental, and neoplastic defects.