10 Interesting Facts about Plastic Surgery

1. The word ‘plastic’ in plastic surgery is derived from the Greek word ‘plastikos’. Plastikos means molding or giving form. Hence, the belief that that plastic surgery is an artificial one is just a misconception. 

2. The new innovations in plastic surgery techniques began during World War. As the number of injured people was enormous, the surgeons were forced to improvise. This has led to new innovations and development of surgery techniques. 

3.  In ancient Rome, plastic surgery started as a means to remove scars. People in Rome were afraid of scars on their back as it was considered shameful and depicted that a man had turned his back during the war. – Hence, they would let their scars removed through ancient plastic surgery techniques.

4. The first Breast augmentation was performed in Germany to a singer who had a growth in her breast removed. Luckily, she had a fatty growth, lipoma on her back, which was removed and transplanted to her breast. 

5.  The first plastic surgery on the Nose was performed in ancient India in 600 B.C. Skin from other parts of the body, mainly the cheek or forehead, was removed and used for reshaping of the nose. Wooden tubes were inserted in the nostrils for air passage during the healing process. 

6. The modern liposuction technique using blunt cannulas for fat removal was developed in France in the year 1977 by Dr. Yves-Gerard Illouz.  He performed this surgery for the first time on a woman who had a lipoma or fat growth on her back. – This surgery created history as the fat was removed without any scars on the back of the woman. 

7.  A bill stating that the cost of plastic surgeries to be covered under insurance policies was put forward for the first time by the US president Bill Clinton. The law also covered breast augmentation for achieving symmetry between opposite breasts.  This was a strong move for the relief of both the plastic surgeons and their patients. 

8. The Britishers started using plastic surgery techniques in the 17th century, when they saw an Indian mason repair the nose of a British driver. They adopted the ancient surgery procedure and made some advancements in it. Since then, plastic surgeries have been performed in almost all of Europe. 

9.  The Egyptians used to perform surgical alterations on their dead bodies and not on the living ones. They used to insert small bones and a handful of seeds into the nose of the dead with a view of recognizing them in their afterlife. The Mummys used to be stuffed with bandages in a similar manner as the modern day practices. 

10. Nose reshaping and breast augmentation are the two most famous plastic surgeries performed all over the world. 91% of the people involved in plastic surgeries include women and men account for only 9 % of it. The 15th century Italian surgeon, Gaspare Tagliacozzi is considered to be the father of modern day plastic surgery. 

Author : Ruby Andrew