The Origins of Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery is gaining in popularity, especially in the last decade as techniques and methods have been updated to deliver exceptional results. Today, elective surgeries and medical procedures carry less post-op risks of infection, patients are at less risk for complications during surgery, and recovery periods are relatively short. The effective surgical solutions of today have been built on very ancient ideas of beauty and proportion. Here are just a few highlights from a long history of practice, experimentation, and surgical solutions from some of the ancient cultures that inspired modern day procedures. 

The term plastic surgery is Greek in Origin. "Plastikus," means to mold or to shape, a term greatly misconstrued in modern times to stand for "fake." The surgical goals of ancient cultures such as the Greeks and Indian nations were more for repair than simply improvement. They wanted to retain the proportions of the body and repair genetic abnormalities that occurred in children and adults. Today, there are many plastic surgeries such as cleft palate repair or ear surgery that is less of a vanity surgery than an effective health and lifestyle solution.

In ancient Egypt, plastic surgery was mostly practiced on the dead. It was important in this culture for kings and other rulers to enter the afterlife with a preserved body and to look proportional and beautiful. Using bones, seeds, and cloth bandages, those performing the mummification would alter the look of the body and face so that it was more appropriate and more aesthetically pleasing for the afterlife. Today, we can see this origin directly relating to the practice of injecting fillers or the use of implants and other prosthetics, improving the look and feel of the face and body. 

During the Roman Empire, plastic surgery was used to repair the wounds of soldiers. Like the Greeks, the Romans celebrated the form of the body and had very clear ideas defining beauty, believing that proportions played a big role in how beautiful a naked form was. Common surgeries included repairing abnormalities such as severed ears or disproportions in the genital area. Some even site ancient texts as the origin of male breast reduction. Today, both men and women are concerned about their figures and both sexes are actively seeking out elective procedures to enhance their appearance. Ancient Rome set a precedent for elective surgeries for men.

During the Middle Ages, the age of religious reformation and the spread of Christianity is the simple reason that science and medicine had issues advancing. Experiments and elective surgeries were seen as pagan rituals, racked with irrational superstition. It wasn't until the 20th century that people would be interested in advancing plastic surgery and start researching and experimenting again. The field of medicine owes a lot to its ancient origins, many of which are directly related to procedures performed today.