This post is an article that was posted on Groupon by Colleen Loggins. Below this post you will find my comments about the article and the history of plastic surgery.
With reality TV’s plethora of too-perfect housewives and nipped-and-tucked celebrities, it can be easy to think of plastic surgery as a modern-day phenomenon. But a look into the history of plastic surgery reveals that people have been taking dramatic steps to change their looks for centuries. Below, we’ve put together a timeline that highlights important milestones in the history of plastic surgery, from the very first nose jobs to the rise of Botox.
Sources: American Plastic: Boob Jobs, Credit Cards, and Our Quest for Perfection by Laurie Essig | “Boosting Butts with Cement, Fix-A-Flat, Leads to Arrest,” ABC News | “Dog attack victim gets world’s first face transplant,” The Guardian | “History of Plastic Surgery,” Plasticsurgery.org | ISAPS International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures Performed in 2013, isaps.org | “Safety of Silicone Breast Implants,” National Academies Press | “Sushruta: Rhinoplasty in 600 B.C.,” Internet Scientific Publications
This photo is courtesy of Jess Duff – Groupon and Colleen Loggins – Groupon
My Take on the History of Plastic Surgery
This brief, bordering on cartoonish, timeline of the history plastic surgery is woefully incomplete but illustrates an often under emphasized theme. The beginnings of plastic surgery AND the evolution of techniques spanning multiple disciplines of surgery are closely tied to plastic surgery’s rigorous science, technological innovation and development of complex reconstruction preserving form and function. Unfortunately, these tenets are permeated throughout time by quackery, chicanery, sensationalism and profiteering.
You can also read the article on Groupon.
