You may be surprised to know that plastic surgery is considered one of the oldest healing arts in the world. The Egyptians practiced this form as early as 3400 BC, and doctors in ancient India used skin grafts around 800 BC. In the Middle Ages, the practice of plastic surgery spread to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Asia-Pacific.
The countries where plastic surgery is most popular are Brazil, South Korea, India and Mexico, followed by the United States. Cosmetic surgery follows plastic surgery that precedes it, and then follows again, with the exception of China and Japan.
Over the last 100 years, plastic surgeons have continued to research and develop cosmetic surgery in the field we know today.
Plastic surgery dates back to the ancient Egyptians
Plastic surgery is at least as old as ancient Egypt, and has advanced things like anesthesia and antiseptics by several millennia. The Edwin Smith Papyrus is one of the oldest known medical texts on trauma and surgical procedures.
Sushruta’s text also outlines the reconstruction of earlobes by skin grafting from the cheek and the repair of the nose by using forehead and cheek lobes as the source of the reconstruction.
The techniques used in ancient India were introduced in the West, where they were refined and eventually improved, leading to increasingly sophisticated surgical practices.
Archaeologists studying ancient papyrus texts discovered that reconstructions were carried out to repair damaged features in battles, and amputations were carried out as punishment for various crimes.
Although many people regard plastic and cosmetic surgery as a relatively new innovation, the practice of surgical enhancement and restoration of body parts began more than 4000 years ago.
The evolution of cosmetic surgery
The evolution of cosmetic surgery followed the same path that most technologies have followed over time, going through many stages of development before reaching its present form.
The oldest cosmetic surgery practices may date back to the Middle Ages, where early reports describe rudimentary surgical procedures performed to repair rudimentary facial trauma, including jaw and nose fractures. These people were urged to undergo painful surgical procedures to correct their facial features and body parts, such as removing facial hair and repairing broken teeth.
The first documented operations took place in Britain and Europe in the 16th century, but not before the late 17th and early 18th centuries in Europe.
T Tudor hairdressers treated facial injuries, which was crucial in a culture where damaged and ugly faces reflected a disfigured interior, says medical historian Margaret Pelling. The first person to have plastic surgery was Sir Harold Delf Gillies, who had a skin flap operation in 1917. This was the only skin and muscle previously transplanted, according to the British Medical Journal.
The valve procedure
The valve procedure, which was used on both men and women, was standard for 40 years. Skin patches that were not touched by any part of the body were used to reconstruct the facial features of soldiers from both world wars. Harold Gillies performed his first skin flap surgery in 1917, using what he had learned from the stem flap to reconstruct a soldier’s face.
Cosmetic surgery became a relatively safe and pain-free prospect for healthy people who felt unattractive. In 1901, the Derma Featural Co. advertised in the English magazine World’s Dress for the removal of a diseased nose, protruding ears and other facial defects.
Greek, Roman and Byzantine medicine
The solid scientific foundations of Greek, Roman and Byzantine medicine gave way to mysticism, with procedures for repairing cleft lips described in the literature of the early 10th century. It is believed that the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II was overthrown and his nose mutilated so that his disfigurement prevented him from reclaiming his title.
The ancient Egyptian used the cat’s intestine to make sutures, due to their melting in the skin after the surgeries, and contributing to the beautification of the wound site.
The pharaohs knew surgeries to beautify the nose and treat burns and deformities
Research and papyri proved that the pharaohs knew surgeries to beautify the nose and treat burns and deformities, as the pharaohs excelled in treating soldiers after wars and removing traces of pimples and deformities as known as cosmetics thousands of years ago, and the pharaohs used powders and cosmetic products and knew defects and glasses and used herbs and eyeglasses Botox and Filler Pharaoh !!
Through advanced tomography devices «Ct – Scan, a comprehensive examination of the mummy of Tutankhamun was carried out. Archaeologists discovered that there were plastic surgeries performed on the king’s face to appear in the best image in the other world. So parts of the face were stuffed with some resinous materials that were placed under the skin, to give the natural appearance For the face, and strangely enough, these operations were performed by skilled surgeons and by using something similar to the injection under the skin as it is now followed in plastic surgery, and you cannot see cuts or holes in the face that suggest the existence of an injection under the skin 3500 years ago.
Rhinoplasty, eyes and even eyelids
Upon examination of Yuya mummy, subcutaneous injections were detected. The plastic surgery of the pharaohs was not limited to this extent, but the archaeological evidence confirms that the pharaohs performed plastic surgery and injections of the hands, arms and feet, and the aim was to preserve the vital appearance of the body. They also performed rhinoplasty, eyes and even eyelids that were handled with great care and skill.
Also, a right thumb was found in 2000 in one of the Pharaonic graves of an Egyptian mummy. Scientists confirm that it is an Egyptian woman who died in her fifties, and also another toe was found without a corpse made of wood and leather. It dates back to 600 BC and was kept in the British Museum in London.