A Brief Explanation and History of Plastic Surgery

Contrary to its name, very little plastic is involved in plastic surgery. Basic procedures began in about 600BC, long before plastic as we know it today appeared on the market. In fact, the term plastic surgery is derived from the Greek word plastikos, meaning to mould or change.

In its primitive beginnings around 600BC, plastic surgery was used as an attempt to reconstruct the noses of criminals in India who had had them cut off as a punishment for their crimes. This early plastic surgery involved taking skin from the forehead and transferring it to the nose.

But, the true beginnings of plastic surgery as it is known today, occurred at the end of World War 1 when many victims sought facial reconstruction to their war-battered faces. Though the techniques used then helped many restart their lives, the procedures have since been greatly refined allowing today’s plastic surgeons to offer a wide range of procedures to patients.

Australian and New Zealand plastic surgeons have an international reputation as leaders in reconstructive surgery and microsurgery. Using state-of-the-art equipment and procedures, some time-consuming and invasive techniques of the past have been eliminated. As well as offering purely cosmetic surgery, plastic surgeons’ work today can, for example, improve the faces of children born with severe facial deformities and create a natural look to reconstructed parts of the body, e.g. breast reconstruction following mastectomy.