Cosmetic Surgery
Cosmetic surgery is anything that involves the surgical alteration of a part of the body. There are numerous types of cosmetic surgery to choose from today including liposuction, breast augmentation and reduction, rhinoplasty and tummy tucks. Cosmetic surgery can also refer to non surgical procedures such as Botox, microdermabrasion and laser hair removal. But where exactly did cosmetic surgery come from?
Ancient Cosmetic Surgery
Cosmetic surgery actually dates back to the ancient Egyptians, Romans and ancient Indians. The ancient Egyptians only performed types of cosmetic surgery on their dead. Before some people could be mummified they would sometimes preserve parts of the face with cosmetic means such as stuffing facial areas with seeds. They used to do this as the believed that the face we have in life is also the face we have in the afterlife and should be recognisable as such. The main birthplace of cosmetic surgery was in ancient India where there is strong evidence to suggest types of nose surgery were performed. The ancient Romans also had experience of performing cosmetic surgery. Scars on the back were particularly treated to remove them as they believed this showed a man had turned his back in battle or he had been whipped as a slave. The ancient Romans were also the first to perform circumcision surgery.
Middle ages and renaissance
During the middle ages there was an increase in the obsession of the human body and as such cosmetic surgery practices spread. Surgeons would attempt to correct things such as droopy eyelids and rhinoplasty would be performed on men and women with enough money to get a new nose. Cosmetic surgery during this time was mostly done in secret as some believed the surgeon was performing pagan rituals with the spilling of blood. During the renaissance an increase in the practices of rhinoplasty increased greatly.
World Wars
It is during the world wars that a huge increase in cosmetic surgery came about. Soldiers injured during the wars had need of corrective surgery. In world war one in particular injuries to the head were common and surgeons had to find a way to correct things such as shattered jaws and skull injuries. During the First World War Harold Delf Gilles opened the first ever hospital that was devoted to cosmetic surgery only. World war two ensured that there was a dramatic change in the types of cosmetic surgery available with surgeons having to create entire limbs and fit them onto patients. After world war two had finished surgeons started suggesting to the public what a perfect body should be like and this encouraged cosmetic procedures for appearance reasons only.
Later Developments
During the 1960′s showgirls were known to start injecting their breasts with silicone to increase there size which obviously lead to later breast problems. Later silicone was made available as a breast implant and was intended for use in women who had lost a breast to cancer. In the 1990?s the FDA took silicone breast implants off the market due to high reports a leakage. However after a fourteen year ban these were put back on the market. Advances in cosmetic surgery over the last forty years have meant that almost any type of procedure is available to shape the body into whatever the patient desires.