Explore Plastic Surgery - Dr. Barry Eppley

As we commemorate D-day now 65 years later, this brings to mind for me how this and the previous World War shaped and propelled Plastic Surgery into the limelight of modern medicine.

The father of modern plastic surgery, British surgeon Harold Delf Gillies (1882–1960), developed many plastic surgery techniques during World War I. (1914-1918) Since this war was conducted mostly in trenches, there were horrific numbers of skull and face injuries. (sticking one’s head up was usually not a good idea) Never before had so many such injuries been seen. Broken jaws, lost noses, missing lips and wide open skull wounds caused by the weaponry of the time necessitated innovation in reconstructive surgical procedures. Some of the best surgical talent of the day from many European countries devoted themselves to restoring the faces and lives of their countrymen during and well after  World War I. The first plastic surgery dedicated hospital came out of this war as well as the pedicled or tubed skin graft which became a work horse of tissue reconstruction for the next 75 years. By World War II (1939–45), plastic surgery had become an integral part of most medical teams of the armed forces and the techniques developed in the first world war for open wounds, facial injuries and burns underwent further refinement. By the end of World War II, many plastic surgeons served in the armed forces, treating wounded soldiers, sailors, and airmen. New medical foundations were formed, and scientific journals were written especially for plastic surgeons. The most important one, in 1946, was the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery—the official publication of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (ASPRS).

The recent and ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan is bringing new types of war wounds and injury mechanisms. While the casualty number remains less than the great World Wars, the challenges posed by today’s weaponry is teaching new lessons about reconstruction and tissue healing. Born out of war, plastic surgery remains at the forefront of surgical innovation as witnessed by recent successful facial transplants.

 Dr. Barry Eppley

http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com

http://www.ologyspa.com

Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana

Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana

Indianapolis

History of Plastic Surgery – From Egypt to World Wars to the Present

The origins and history of Plastic Surgery become evoked in my mind every time a patient asks the question during a consult…….’now where is the plastic going?’ Some patients erroneously assume that the name, Plastic Surgery, involves doing part of the operation with a piece of plastic. (ironically, that is true when breast and facial implants are inserted) However, plastic as a material is a relatively recent invention from the 1940s, and other than some breast and facial surgeries, is not used in the vast majority of plastic surgery procedures. Plastic surgery, however, as a practiced part of medicine has a much older history and derives its name from the Greek word, Plastikos, meaning to mold or shape. Plastic Surgery has long been associated with the reconstruction or alteration of face and body parts, regardless of whether the surgery was being performed in cases of injury, birth defects, cancer, or for cosmetic reasons.
Many attribute the development of plastic surgery to the days of trench warfare in World War I. During that war, a large number of mutilating injuries occurred, particularly of the face, by looking up over the top of the trench in the midst of battle. As a result, many complex face and body reconstructions were performed by a variety of surgeons from many different disciplines who were learning the early art of plastic surgery. However, this view is not entirely accurate as plastic operations were described in the earliest Indian and Egyptian records. Even in the early part of the Christian era, records of plastic surgery work were written. The most noteworthy historic event in plastic surgery occurred in the middle of the fifteenth century when a Sicilian surgeon rebuilt a lost nose from an arm and published the first plastic surgery text in 1597. The impact of this history is felt today as the image of that event is used by one of the plastic surgery societies as their logo.
I think of this every time I hear that famous plastic surgery question……..but I simply say……we won’t use any plastic material to fix your problem!

Dr Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www.ologyspa.com
Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana
Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis