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History of Plastic Surgery

This history of plastic surgery is much longer than many people realize it is. Contrary to popular belief, “plastic surgery” has been practices for thousands of years. As early as 2000 BC, physicians in India were practicing reconstructive surgery on people that had been injured and wounded. The Romans and the Egyptians also contributed to the history of plastic surgery, with their own methods of physical reconstruction.

Early methods of plastic surgery were quite primitive of course, however they did prove to be affective in many cases. Some examples of early forms of plastic surgery include repairing skin and limbs that were damaged due to injuries from everyday accidents to injuries sustained during war.

Physicians in the early 14th and 15th century often traveled to these foreign countries to learn the methods that these early plastic surgeons used in reconstructing a patients body.

Many of these traveling physicians came from locations that were much more technologically advanced at the time, and were able to advance upon primitive plastic surgery methods, to improve how affective the surgery was.

A great number of these early plastic surgeries that were performed consisted of reconstruction using skin from other parts of the body, to repair an area that had already been damaged.

This method is still used today in skin grafts and other types of reconstructive surgeries, however procedures now are much more advanced. Even so, without these early attempts at reconstruction, we may not have some of the procedures available that we have today.

As the world moved on and became more advanced, plastic surgery methods became more precise and detailed. In 1917, one of the most successful plastic surgeries was performed on a British solider that had sustained an injury. This surgery was extremely notable in the history of plastic surgery, and doctors around the world would build on the methods that were used by the physician, to perfect skin grafts.

Since the early 20th century, the field of plastic surgery has grown by leaps and bounds. Each decade that has passed, has given us more advanced methods of cosmetic procedures, which are now not only use to reconstruct a disfigurement, but can also simply improve a persons appearance, or change physical attributes about themselves that they are displeased with.

Now in the 21st century, the history of plastic surgery pales in comparison what doctors find themselves able to do. Around the world, there are plastic surgeons that are viewed to be able to do the impossible, and perform plastic surgeries that many would view as impossible. To find such a plastic surgeon, New York City is a great place to go, as it is home to some of the best plastic surgeons in the world.

While the history of plastic surgery is certainly a primitive one, it is also an extremely long and important one. Without the early innovations of physicians looking to reconstruct those that had been maimed and injured, we may not have the advanced procedures that we have available to us today.