Individual Project - Plastic Surgery

            One popular technology of this time is the plastic surgery. It is most famous for enhancing physical properties of those who like to look and feel more beautiful.

Tracing back the origin of plastic surgery, its procedures were already practiced even in ancient India, Egypt, and Rome. The oldest recorded plastic surgery procedure was in India where a Hindu surgeon named Sushruta wrote a text Sushruta Samhita about a method of reconstructing the nose. In Egypt, methods resembling that of plastic surgery were also performed on the mummies “to ensure that his most prominent feature would be recognizable in the afterlife”.

However, the reasons for people to go through the early practice of plastic surgery in ancient Rome are comparable to that of today. Their society gives importance to beauty and anything odd is subject to people’s scrutiny. A medical writer in this time named Aulus Cornelius Celsus even described in his text De Medicina a “breast reduction” surgery on an obese man whose breasts were “unsightly” and “shameful.”

Fast forward to the time of the World Wars, the main use of plastic surgery is to restore form and function of injured or lost parts of the body. Many soldiers acquired different kinds of wounds and injuries.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, plastic surgery can be divided into two subspecialties - Reconstructive Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery.

Reconstructive surgery deals with “improving functions” or “approximate a normal appearance” of abnormally formed parts of the body caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors or disease.

Cosmetic surgery primarily deals with improving someone’s appearance (and self-esteem). 

Most people are more familiar with cosmetic surgery.

In the Philippines, cosmetic surgery is more common among television personalities. However in other countries such as South Korea, Greece, Italy, and USA, it is a common occurrence.

Media plays a significant role in the continuing popularity of plastic surgery.

                In fact, there had been television reality shows where plastic surgery was highlighted – American TV show “The Swan (2004)” and Korean TV show “Let Me In (2010)”. Below are two pictures of some who underwent procedures in “Let Me In”:

Byun Shin
photo taken from: http://myseoulsecret.com/2013/12/11/let-me-in/

Korean twins (L and R) underwent plastic surgery. They took a picture with their surgeon (C).
photo taken from: http://www.dramafever.com/news/korean-twin-sisters-are-completely-unrecognizable-after-plastic-surgery/

photo taken from: http://myseoulsecret.com/2013/12/11/let-me-in/

photo taken from: http://myseoulsecret.com/2013/12/11/let-me-in/

References:

American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures.html and http://www.plasticsurgery.org/reconstructive-procedures.html. March 7, 2014.

Beautiful Body: A History of Plastic Surgery, 2008. Random History.com. http://www.randomhistory.com/2008/08/31_plastic.html. March 7,2014.

Davidson, Kavitha A., 2013. Top Plastic Surgery Countries: International Society Of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons Releases Report. The Huffington Post.      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/31/top-plastic-surgery-countries-world_n_2590757.html. March 7, 2014.

DiBacco, Thomas, 1994. Plastic Surgeries Earliest Cases Date to Ancient Egypt, India. Washington Post.  http://www.hindunet.org/alt_hindu/1994_2/msg00097.html. March 7, 2014.

Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna, 1911. An English translation of the Sushruta Samhita. Internet Archive, University of Toronto. https://archive.org/details/englishtranslati00susruoft. March 8, 2014.

Salcido, Jannelle, 2010. The History of Plastic Surgery. PlasticSurgery.com. http://plasticsurgery.com/the-history-of-plastic-surgery/. March 1, 2014.