Plastic Surgery History In Brief

The history of plastic surgery dates from the 700's BC. The first surgeon of the world was Sushruta Samhita who lived and practiced in the the area of today's Varanasi in Northern India. In his book Sushruta classifies surgery in 8 categories, describes over 120 surgical instruments and 300 various procedures mentioning otoplasty and rhinoplasty. Surgeons of ancient India performed many difficult techniques like skin grafting – skin reconstruction used in case of trauma, burn or wounding which involves the transplantation of tissue.

The Romance made such simple procedures as ear repairing since the 1st century BC. In medieval Europe the nose transplantation was applied, however the plastic surgery procedures remained rather dangerous as well as painful. Only when the anesthesia techniques were established plastic surgery became more common.

With the invention of infection reducing sterile techniques and antibiotics plastic surgery methods were much perfected. Thus in 1814 Joseph Carpue operated on a British military officer whose nose was lost during mercury treatment. Facial plastic surgery was developing with great strides, and in 1818 a new method of nose transplantation was described in “Rhinoplastik” by German surgeon Carl Von Graefe. The know-how consisted in the skin grafting from the arm in contrast to the delayed pedicle flap which was used before. In 1845 some important nuances of cosmetic plastic surgery, especially rhinoplasty, were depicted in “Operative Chirurgie” by Dieffenbach.

John Peter Mettauer is the first plastic surgery specialist in the USA. In 1827 he successfully performed the first cleft palate using the surgical instruments designed by himself. Sir Harold Gillies, a New Zealand-born otolaryngologist, was considered the father of modern plastic surgery. He was also a pioneer of sex reassignment surgery.

Nowadays cosmetic plastic surgery, including such procedures as breast augmentation, face rejuvenation and thigh lift, has become commonplace and one can't foresee what will be invented the next.