Plastic surgery is the most artistic field in medicine, few would disagree. Much like an artist, plastic surgeons combine vision, planning, and masterful technique to achieve their artistic goals. Artistic ability is not a requirement to become a plastic surgeon. In fact, I know many very good plastic surgeons who cannot even draw a stick figure. These are the “carpenters”. They can achieve excellent results from measuring distances and angles to devise the plan that would best serve them.
The best plastic surgeons use both an “artistic” and “carpenter” approach to their craft. There is certainly value in the saying “measure twice, cut once”. A less catchy but better adage would be “envision it, measure it, execute it!”