There are actually very few operations in plastic surgery that involve the insertion of a plastic material. This surgical specialty has an artifactual image that is created because it is confused with a modern invention. Plastic surgery as a medical specialty has been around since the 16th century and its name comes from the Greek word Plastikos meaning to mold or shape. That is certainly much of what plastic surgery attempts to achieve on the human body. Plastic as a material has a much more recent history that only dates back to the 1950s when it was developed. The surgery and the material share the same origin in their name but that is about as closely as they are related.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana