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Articles and Products of History Plastic Surgery Pre Modern WorldPlastic surgery has taken over the minds of the western world. Television shows depicting make overs of the everyday individual, before and after photographs in magazines, and the perfect face and figure of older movie stars has made plastic surgery an everyday term. Even young teens are pleading with their parents for reconstruction of their face, or chest. It seems that plastic surgery is becoming as common as dental care. Plastic surgery dates back to 3000 B.C. It is believed that Egyptians were interested in treating facial disfigurements of their people. It has been reported that in India in 800 B.C. they were experimenting with skin grafting. During the 13th century Pope Innocent III banned surgery, and the study of plastic surgery didn’t go through much change until Renaissance period. Prior to this time, plastic surgery was considered taboo, and dishonor was given to any individual who participated in it. Doctors who did participate in plastic or reconstructive surgeries were labeled barber surgeons. The term plastic comes from the Greek word plastikos. Plastikos means to give something form, or to mold. The word plastic was not related to the word surgery until it was used by Von Graefe. The first notable plastic surgeon in the United States was Dr. John Mettaur. He was a Virginian who was born in 1787. He successfully performed the first cleft palate surgery. The instruments he used during this operation were instruments that he had designed himself. Plastic surgeons, or reconstructive surgeons are looked at as life savers by many individuals today in our modern world. They come to the rescue of the deformed, and the disfigured. They also come to the aid of a person with low self esteem due to an enlarged now, or protruding ears. They have come a long way from the barber surgeons of yesterday. Further Reading
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