Discover some interesting facts about plastic surgery!
- The word “Plastic” is derived from the Greek plasikos, meaning “to mold”. The term surgery is derived from the Greekkheirourgos, kheir = hand and, ergon=work.
- The first recorded nose job is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts dating to 600 B.C. Physicians would reconstruct noses by cutting skin from either cheek or forehead and twisting the skin and sewing in place. A version of this method is still used today!
- Romans practiced various forms of plastic surgery to repair eyes, noses and teeth, in the first century B.C. Roman physician Cornelius Celsus also described procedures such as breast reduction on men.
- Many surgeries in the early Renaissance were performed in barber shops.
- Silicone implants grew in popularity in the 1960’s. Show girls would inject their breasts with liquid silicone.
- The first modern breast augmentation took place on November 24th, 1893, in Germany, by Vincent Czerny. His patient was a 41 year old singer who had a growth in her breast removed. He transplanted a fatty deposit that had grown on her back into her breast. The Czerny retractor is a surgical instrument used by surgeons today!