Fri 2 Dec, 2011
Centuries ago, the first plastic surgery was performed. Since then it has become much more well known and understood. Today it’s sub-fields, reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, along with their many sub-categories have increased dramatically in popularity. Contrary to it’s sometimes negative associations, many individuals are able to find great comfort from the self esteem and functional body recovery that this branch of medicine provides.
The earliest known examples of cosmetic procedures performed by surgeons were in India circa eight hundred B. C. There the first “nose jobs”, more officially known as rhinoplasties, were given to patients. Other ancient cultures, including the Romans, Egyptians and Greeks had their own ways of performing procedures. The term plastic surgery, comes from plastikos, a Greek word meaning to mold or give form. Ancient surgeons did not have access to today’s technology and so used simpler tools and methods. It is interesting to see that ancient humans too were so concerned with physical appearance and it is not a modern development.
Thousands of years later, this branch of medicine would modernize. It was World War I when this field really took off and began moving forward technologically at a rapid pace. It was the influx of returning soldiers with war-related facial injuries that motivated doctors to develop new techniques for correcting disfigurement.
The two major branches of plastic surgery are cosmetic and reconstructive. Reconstructive is generally performed to fix functional issues. Cosmetic is generally used to improve physical appearance.
Some of the common problems that reconstructive surgeons treat are burns, cancer, tumors, and developmental abnormalities. The most common surgeries they perform are laceration and scar repair, hand surgery, breast reduction and tumor removal. Though much of their work is functional improvement, they also often will use their skills to help a patient achieve a more normal appearance.
Breast augmentation, nose jobs, liposuction and tummy tucks are some of the many procedures that cosmetic surgeons perform. They are also licensed to administer botox and laser hair removal. These last two are non-surgical procedures.
Though plastic surgery began hundreds of years ago, the number of patients seeking these treatments has increased dramatically in both the United States and other countries in recent years. The medical field has improved the specialty greatly in the past hundred years, and even moreso in the past two decades as the demand has risen. Both major branches, cosmetic and reconstructive, contain several sub-specialties such as burns, craniofacial, hand, micro, and pediatric surgery.
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