Introduction to
Plastic Surgery
By: Heather Harding
“Plastikos”

The term “plastic surgery” is derived from
the Greek word “Plastikos”

Means to mold or give form

As early as 2,000 BCE in India as a form
of punishment!
When was the first
 In 600 BCE Sanskrit texts described
reconstructive surgery
reconstruction of a mutilated nose using
performed?
tissue from the cheek
Renaissance Times
Primarily rebuilding of nose
 Start of experimentation with Indian ideas
of using local and distant tissue to
reconstruct wounds

War Times
The need for reconstructions launched
during World War 1
 Massive disfiguration of burn victims
creates new challenges to surgeons

1920s-1930s


European surgeons
Maliniac and
Aufricht launch The
American Society of
Plastic &
Reconstructive
Surgeons (ASPRS)

Maliniac
1st division of Plastic
Surgery in a public
hospital is formed
Aufricht
By the late 1930s
The American
Board of Plastic
Surgery (ABPS) is
createdqualification as
plastic surgeon
1940s

The Journal

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
Debuted in 1946
Forum for Plastic Surgeons to share their
knowledge/discoveries
Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation (PSEF)





Founded in1948
Supports education on plastic surgery to surgeons and
public
Awards scholarships & prizes
Seminars and meetings
Exchange programs w/physicians around the world
1950s
ASPRS is fully board certified
 Communication with the public heightens

 Television

New innovations
 Latest
innovation is internal wiring for facial
fractures
 Being tested in hospitals in Korea
1960s

Public exposure increases
number of procedures being
performed

Silicone development

Initially used to treat skin
imperfections
 1962 begins usage as breast implant
device
1970s & 1980s



Personal advertising of surgeons is banned
Specialties and individual procedures start
getting marketed through brochures
Flame retardant children’s clothing is
developed
Plastic
Surgery
1990s

Internet
 Websites for surgeons to post questions, get answers and share
procedure info

ASPRS becomes ASPS to assure that plastic surgery and
reconstructive surgery are the same

Silicone Implant Crisis due to complications
 Links to illness
 The Horrors of Breast Implants is released nationally on TV
 Toll free hotline is set up regarding silicone implant safety
 Silicone implants can only be used for reconstruction under clinical
studies

Health Care Reform
 Insurance companies are required to cover cost of reconstruction breast
surgery for women who have undergone a mastectomy
2000s

Botox approval: average 1.1 million injections/year

10 deaths leads to 3 month pause of office based
surgery

Improved Public Perceptions
 Magazines and TV shows
 By 2006 16.2 million+ surgeries are being
performed annually

Reintroduction of Silicone Implant
 General patient usage is approved in 2006 after tests
prove no connection to illness
Future Challenges
Reducing surgical scarring and patient
recovery time
 Scar-less healing takes place in the womb,
researchers are trying to unlock the
secrets of the growth factor environment of
it to apply to wounds
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