History of Plastic Surgery ~ Part I (06-2004)
A History of Plastic Surgery
The next several issues of our newsletter will be devoted to a discussion of the history of plastic surgery. We offer this information because in the hope that it will interest and, in some cases, surprise you. We welcome your comments.
The word plastic comes from the Greek word plastikos, which means to mold or give form, but the origins of plastic and reconstructive surgery go back further still, back to early Egyptian records on papyri and Indian records in Sanskrit texts. The Indian records, dating back as perhaps 2600 years ago and discuss nose, ear, and lip reconstructive techniques, such as skin grafts.
The word “plastic” in the description of reconstructive surgery was first used in 1818 by Von Graefe in his Rhinoplastik. The evolution of plastic surgery into what it is today can be attributed to the contributions of many people in many fields, from many backgrounds and medical specialties. It has been re-formed and refined to what is has become today. The introduction of sterile technique, anesthesia, antibiotics, and an increase in knowledge over the years has “grown,” but the objectives are the same, to restore normal form and function and to further enhance the human form.
Early Reconstructive Efforts in Egypt and India
Egyptian physicians get credit for being the first to practice what ultimately became modern reconstructive plastic surgery. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, which date to approximately 3000 BC, include descriptions of surgery to treat facial trauma, which included the treatment of mandibular and nasal fractures. What is most surprising is that despite the fact that these records go back so many years, the descriptions are amazingly “accurate” and based not on superstitions of the times, but instead on scientific principles.
Hundreds of years passed until the true birth of reconstructive surgery. Historians tell us that the first recorded description of actual reconstructive plastic surgery may be traced back more than 2600 years to the Sanskrit texts of ancient India. It was commonplace for bands of marauders to practice facial mutilation which to them was a visible and a permanent way to punish and humiliate. Such practices were common in India and its surrounding territories.
Hindu judges routinely meted out mutilation as punishments for crimes. These punishments included amputation of the nose, a symbol of dignity and respect in many societies throughout antiquity. Such facial mutilation also created the need for plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The Hindu author Sushruta recorded a reconstruction of an earlobe by using skin from the cheek. He further described a traditional reconstruction of the nose, with a tissue flap created from the forehead or the adjacent cheek. This method has since then been referred to as the “Indian” or “Hindu” method. The precise dating of Sushruta’s reconstructive procedures is debated by historians and dated at 600 BC, or 400 BC, or to the first century AD.
Regardless of exactly what techniques were practiced and regardless of the exact dates, such early methods of reconstruction are even more incredible when we realize that Indian surgeons had practiced them for years before they were noted in the literature.
The next several issues of our newsletter will be devoted to a discussion of the history of plastic surgery. We offer this information because in the hope that it will interest and, in some cases, surprise you. We welcome your comments.
The word plastic comes from the Greek word plastikos, which means to mold or give form, but the origins of plastic and reconstructive surgery go back further still, back to early Egyptian records on papyri and Indian records in Sanskrit texts. The Indian records, dating back as perhaps 2600 years ago and discuss nose, ear, and lip reconstructive techniques, such as skin grafts.
The word “plastic” in the description of reconstructive surgery was first used in 1818 by Von Graefe in his Rhinoplastik. The evolution of plastic surgery into what it is today can be attributed to the contributions of many people in many fields, from many backgrounds and medical specialties. It has been re-formed and refined to what is has become today. The introduction of sterile technique, anesthesia, antibiotics, and an increase in knowledge over the years has “grown,” but the objectives are the same, to restore normal form and function and to further enhance the human form.
Early Reconstructive Efforts in Egypt and India
Egyptian physicians get credit for being the first to practice what ultimately became modern reconstructive plastic surgery. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, which date to approximately 3000 BC, include descriptions of surgery to treat facial trauma, which included the treatment of mandibular and nasal fractures. What is most surprising is that despite the fact that these records go back so many years, the descriptions are amazingly “accurate” and based not on superstitions of the times, but instead on scientific principles.
Hundreds of years passed until the true birth of reconstructive surgery. Historians tell us that the first recorded description of actual reconstructive plastic surgery may be traced back more than 2600 years to the Sanskrit texts of ancient India. It was commonplace for bands of marauders to practice facial mutilation which to them was a visible and a permanent way to punish and humiliate. Such practices were common in India and its surrounding territories.
Hindu judges routinely meted out mutilation as punishments for crimes. These punishments included amputation of the nose, a symbol of dignity and respect in many societies throughout antiquity. Such facial mutilation also created the need for plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The Hindu author Sushruta recorded a reconstruction of an earlobe by using skin from the cheek. He further described a traditional reconstruction of the nose, with a tissue flap created from the forehead or the adjacent cheek. This method has since then been referred to as the “Indian” or “Hindu” method. The precise dating of Sushruta’s reconstructive procedures is debated by historians and dated at 600 BC, or 400 BC, or to the first century AD.
Regardless of exactly what techniques were practiced and regardless of the exact dates, such early methods of reconstruction are even more incredible when we realize that Indian surgeons had practiced them for years before they were noted in the literature.
