What does -plasty mean in medical terms?

-plasty

Meaning: surgical repair

Type: Suffix

A suffix goes at the very end of a word, after the root. On this page: what -plasty means, and real medical words that use it, each broken down into its parts.

Example words using -plasty

rhinoplasty
rhino (nose) + -plasty (surgical repair) = surgical repair of the nose
angioplasty
angio (vessel) + -plasty (surgical repair) = surgical repair of a blood vessel

Shortened forms

Charts and notes shorten long terms — see the Medical Abbreviations guide for the short forms you will meet in real records.

Please note: This section teaches the language of medicine — what word parts mean and how terms are built. It is an educational reference, not medical advice. For the meaning of a word in your own medical record, ask the clinician who wrote it.