The History of Plastic Surgery

The history of plastic surgery goes as far back as 2000 B.C. In India and Egypt, ancient physicians experienced some  forms of plastic surgery. In an article in the Washington Post by Thomas V. Di Bacco it is written that reeds were used in Egyptian nose reconstruction to keep the nostrils open as the nose healed.

In another part of the world Roman physicians, in the first century, practiced early  beginnings of surgical methods to make some changes on the body. As we all know in Roman culture beauty of the human body was  highly valued. For that reason,  ancient Roman doctors operated on former gladiators whose bodies and faces had become severely damaged. Roman medical writer Aulus Cornelius Celsus wrote "De Medicina,” which outlined some of the techniques used in the practice of breast reduction and reconstruction of the ears, lips and noses – an important early text for plastic surgery.

After the fall of Rome at the end of the third century A.D., the progress of plastic surgery appears to have stalled for several hundred years. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the spread of Christianity forbade any kind of surgical changes to the body, as dictated by Pope Innocent III.

Then, in the late 1500s, a breakthrough in plastic surgery occurred. In Sicily, Italy, Gasparo Tagliacozzi experimented with skin grafts for nose reconstructive surgery. However, Tagliacozzi’s progress was hindered by the influence of the Church. In addition, the technology of general anesthesia was still in its beginning stages at that time, which made any plastic surgery attempts extremely painful for the patient.

For centuries, plastic surgery continued to struggle without much progress. In 1907, the first article related to cosmetic surgery, “The Correction of Featural Imperfection,” was published but ignored by the medical community. However, the outbreak of World War I would change the course of plastic surgery history . As the history of the American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASPRS) describes, trench warfare caused thousands of soldiers receive extensive trauma wounds on their faces, necks, throats, and arms. This resulted in plastic surgery quickly becoming an independent medical field that varied greatly across the nation.

Within the past 100 years, the field of plastic surgery has experienced a great progress. The first medical journal for plastic surgery  was published in 1946, which increased  communication related to new developments in the medical community. Almost all types of plastic surgery have undergone considerable technological improvement, and by the signature of a law requiring insurance companies to cover breast reconstruction surgeries after a mastectomy, in 1998, many of them have received lawful recognition. In the mid 2000s, interest in plastic surgery skyrocketed. Popular shows such as Extreme Makeover, Dr. 90210, and Nip/Tuck gave the plastic surgery industry a new and familiar look to the public.

 Of all plastic surgeries, breast augmentation and liposuction are the most common, with women usually accounting for 91 percent of the patients.

Today, modern technology continues to expand the horizons of plastic surgery. From its earliest beginnings to its most recent developments, the world and the point of view towards plastic surgery has evolved a lot.