How Modern Plastic Surgery Came to Be

It is fascinating to look at the history of plastic surgery in the United States and beyond, and how it came to be what it is now. Though modern plastic surgery hasn't really been around all that long, there were forms of it that date back as far as 6th century BC. There are numerous written reports of rhinoplasty in India and the Arabic peninsula. The ancient Romans and Greeks were known to perform some basic plastic surgery procedures such as repairing ears from battle. But this is a far cry from what plastic surgery has become today, and it draws a distinction between modern plastic surgery in that little of it was purely aesthetic, while the majority of it was done for repair-like reasons (or perhaps religious reasons).

Procedures that address a person's vanity as opposed to their necessity are more prevalent today, and this is in contrast to the plastic surgery of times gone by. Even so, many of the techniques used in modern cosmetic surgery, particularly facial surgery, were borne of military necessity on the field of battle as far back as WWI. The situations that arose in these battlefield procedures could be quite dire, and prompted a good bit of experimentation because - as harsh as it is - often there wasn't any other choice. Reconstructive surgery and skin grafting techniques grew in leaps and bounds during this period.

There is a famous British sailor who is known as the first person to have benefited from plastic surgery, though that title is admittedly a little dubious. In 1916, a battle left Walter Yeo with injuries all over his face, particularly around the eyes and mouth. The procedure gave him a mask over his wounds using skin grafting techniques. Despite being functional, the graft was far from attractive.

People seem to choose plastic surgery more easily in today's world. There is a certain obsession with cosmetic surgery in the US and the Western World, and it is reaching greater and greater heights every year. In 2011, in the US alone, there were 1,638,524 surgical cosmetic procedures (according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery). This is roughly double what it was about ten years prior. The number is still rising.

The popularity of plastic surgery has only been increasing - it's likely we will continue to see it become more and more common. When children think that it is normal for their mother to have a lift at 45 and their dad to have calf implants, they'll think nothing of doing the same and maybe more when they are grown. And that process will repeat exponentially throughout generations - not to mention that procedures will inevitably come down in price as technology and technical skill of the industry increases.

Chin implants, breast implants, facelifts, and lipo are the most common operations today. Surgical operations are easier to choose when they are more popular and you hear about them constantly, so people don't consider alternatives quite as much. It remains to be seen whether this will truly be in the best interest of our culture or not.

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