Real Plastic Surgery

At cocktail parties, plastic surgeons are favorite targets for tipsy partygoers. "What could you do with my nose?" "Should I have botox?" It's evident to most of us in the profession that the public equates plastic surgery with cosmetic surgery. No wonder. Nearly every media story involving plastic surgery focuses on aesthetic procedures. So it was refreshing to see Reuters carry a story about ear reconstruction among Iraqi victims of abuse and torture at the hands of Saddam. Ear amputation was a common form of punishment, meted out to an estimated 3500 victims. Surgeons are now beginning the complex task of reconstructing these ears, which generally requires multiple stages of fairly complex procedures. I couldn't help but draw an uncanny parallel. Historically, all plastic surgeons know that the first plastic surgery operation is credited to Sushruta, an Indian surgeon from the 7th century BC, who developed a technique to use forehead skin for nasal reconstruction. Why did so many noses need reconstruction in ancient India? Infection or trauma? No. Rather, because nasal amputation was a common form of punishment in those days.