History of Plastic Surgery

Many historians agree that the first documented account of reconstructive plastic surgery was found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts. The Hindu author Sushruta wrote about the reconstruction of earlobes and noses using skin from other parts of the face like the cheek and forehead. These procedures were quite necessary in Sushruta's time, which is believed to be somewhere around 500 B.C., because mutilation was used as a form of punishment, and humiliation was quite common.

In the forth century, the Byzantine physician, Oribasius, wrote at length about different reconstructive plastic surgery procedures in his medical encyclopedia called Synagogue Medicae. In his writing Oribasius demonstrated his insight into important techniques such as using flaps to avoid the distortion of facial features and the process of creating tensionless suture lines. Oribasius's work was highly influential to today's medical and cosmetic surgical techniques. His contributions are noted particularly in the fields of wound management and facial reconstruction.

After Oribasius's time the practice of plastic surgery waned. However a resurgence of reconstructive plastic surgery was documented, first during the 14th, and then the 18th century. Plastic surgery was especially gaining popularity during the 18th century, as Europeans were becoming particularly interested in reconstructive nose plastic surgery to improve the nose's appearance that had been impacted by disease or combat. The advent of effective surgical anesthetics in the late 1800s had allowed plastic surgery to gain more popularity as procedures became less painful and complicated.

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