A Brief History of Plastic Surgery

The word "plastic" has come to mean "artificial" to people in our society today, but that's not where plastic surgery gets its name. The "plastic" in plastic surgery derives from "plastikos," a Greek word that means "to mold or shape."

Although we tend to think of cosmetic surgery when someone mentions plastic surgery, plastic surgeons have a long history of performing physical reconstruction. Skin grafts, which are a form of plastic surgery, were performed in India as long ago as 800 B.C. By the fourth century A.D., surgeons in Byzantium had developed fairly sophisticated methods of fine suturing to prevent scarring.

More significant reconstruction became part of the plastic surgery universe in the 18th century, when an American surgeon repaired a cleft palate, and in the 19th century the development of general anesthesia for surgery helped make plastic surgery more widely acceptable once people realized they no longer had to be wide awake to experience pain. Surgery in general became more commonplace as antibiotics and an understanding of the importance of modern sanitary measures made all forms of surgery less dangerous.

World War I, which maimed thousands of soldiers, was the crucible in which many plastic surgery specialists were formed. Doctors developed methods for reconstructing ears, noses, jaws and eyes, and compared notes across national boundaries after the war.

New techniques and materials are continually being developed in plastic surgery that can repair an ever-wider range of physical deformities, and many that make cosmetic surgery procedures easier, more comfortable, and more affordable than ever before.

Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of cosmeticsurgery-101.com. Visit Jeanette's site to learn more about the history of plastic surgery.