The Effects of Technology on Plastic Surgery
Ludwig Wittgenstein ,a british philosopher,once said, “The human body is the best picture of the human soul.” Though this may be untrue, or widely disagreed with, it shows that people are judged by their appearance. But what if someone is born unattractive, should they stay that way for their entire life? If there is a cure to disfigurement, does that mean people should ignore it just because it’s frowned upon? According to the world book encyclopedia,“Plastic surgery is a field of medicine devoted to molding or rearranging tissues of the body.” Britannica encyclopedia states, “The term plastic surgery comes from the greek word Plastikos meaning to mold or to form.” Throughout history, plastic surgery has been changing the world for the better.
Not only was plastic surgery documented back to as much as 4000 years ago, but physicians in ancient India were using skin grafts as early as 800 B.C (Kita). Despite this, plastic surgery did not come to the United States until somewhere between World War One and World War two, when soldiers suffered from major deformities (Kita). Reconstructive plastic surgery became a necessity for many of these soldiers. Even though American veterans faced equally alarming situations, most plastic surgery procedures were adopted from Europe.
Eventually, when plastic surgery became recognized as a specialty during the 20th century, it separated into two branches (Kita). Thus,
It is everyone's initial right to go about achieving what will help improve their self. It is important to receive these procedures in safe conditions that way it may have a higher success rate. So, getting plastic surgery done in the United States is very much encouraged, especially when the society is not going to change the social norms of looking a particular way. Although the declaration is out of date as far as the technology and types of instruments that we use to achieve these looks through plastic surgery, it is still the basic reason to why one may want to have a surgical fixation of their
Plastic surgery was used for restorative purposes in World War 1. During trench warfare in World War 1 there was many soldiers suffering from facial injuries, such as shattered jaws, blown-off noses, and gaping skull.
Plastic surgery began as bodily reconstruction for wounded soldiers in World War I. The surgery developed in stages, starting with correcting traumatic injuries and deformed facial features. The more cosmetic focus began in the 1970’s, with creating “perfected” facial features and making aesthetically pleasing body parts. Cosmetic surgery boomed in the 1990’s, with 1.2 million procedures performed in the United States alone (plasticsurgery.org). The swiftness in which these procedures have infiltrated society has lead to a change in our view of the value of the body. The modern ease and accessibility of cosmetic surgery has intensified the need for external beauty and has influenced the loss of personal identity.
Cosmetic surgery is intended mainly for correcting disfigurement but also enhancing a person’s features. “The earliest usage of cosmetic surgery was done as early as 600 B.C. by a Hindu surgeon, who repaired a nose using part of a cheek,” Donohoe explained. “By 1000 A.D., rhinoplasty became quite popular due to the inhuman custom of cutting off noses and upper lips of enemies.” When the 16th century came around, “the father of cosmetic surgery” was born, known
Even though plastic surgery is most popular in today’s society, the idea that the practice goes as far back as 3400 B.C., is often misconstrued. It is believed that ancient Egyptians were the first to preform plastic surgery for reconstructive purposes. The
Plastic surgery can be delineated as the branch of surgery concerned with therapeutic or cosmetic repair or re-formation of missing, injured, or malformed tissues or parts. (“Plastic
We live in a society where people worship beauty. As far as recorded history people have gone to extremes to seek beauty. From foot binding in China to wearing strangulating corsets in Victorian era. People from different race and culture have experimented in every way possible way to look beautiful prior to this popular age of plastic surgery. It’s very common to hear people complain about their appearance, whether it’s their crocked nose, thin lips or flat chest. Remarkably, plastic surgery has been the solution for people who complain. Most people tend to think of plastic surgery as only cosmetic surgery and not as reconstructive surgeries. Plastic surgeries seems to be an invention of modern technology; however its roots lie in the ancient history of India. An Indian surgeon contributed towards the establishment of plastic surgery, it was intended to correct physical deformities acquired during birth, accident, disease or war. These surgeries did not gain the popularity it has today until the First World War. It was during the late 60’s, when doctors started realizing the endless possibilities of plastic surgeries. With the help of this surgery a trained surgeon can replace an amputate body part, remove skin cancer, get rid of unattractive scars and visible birthmarks or rescaling a nose or enhance body parts. Today more and more people from different age groups opt for plastic surgeries to obtain dramatic physical changes. These surgeries were envisioned to restore
To sum up, plastic surgery is aimed to make humanity look better. Thousands of people have these operations performed each year. However,
Because of issues such as low self-esteem and a desperate need for social acceptance, the demand for plastic surgery remains at a high rate despite all of its associated risks and controversies (Cope, 2007). There are many risks and negative factors surrounding plastic surgery. Beauty is often associated with a textbook
Plastic surgery can be defined as the specialty in the medical field that involves the restoration, reconstruction, or alteration of the human body. Plastic surgery can be separated into two groups: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. The thesis of this essay is to examine these two types of surgery and to examine the effect that it has on today’s medical world, and what causes people to seek plastic surgery.
A person may enhance one’s appearance in a number of ways. Methods such as make up and plastic surgeries are the most common ways to alter a person’s look. However society is very hypocritical of plastic surgery and considers it to be immoral or scandalous. People may disapprove of plastic surgery because of claims that it is done for vanity, the drastic, irreversible effects it may do to the body, and how dangerous and risky the procedures are. Additionally people believe plastic surgeries are being done to oneself for all the wrong reasons. Although I believe that plastic surgery is unnecessary to improve one’s looks, it is no ones place to judge someone for choosing to do this procedure. Therefore I am in favor with plastic surgery as long as it is not excessive.
A lot of us think that plastic surgery is just one type, but it is actually divided into Cosmetic Surgery and Reconstructive surgery which both have some differences.2-3 First, reconstructive procedures are medically required if there are emergency cases such as accidents and burns. However, cosmetic procedures are elective which aren’t necessary because they mainly aim to enhance the appearance and the function of the body such as tummy tucks.2,4 Second, after completing medical school, reconstructive surgery training takes about 6-8 years to be completed. In contrast, cosmetic surgery training varies in period from one month to years of training.3 Third, there are some organs which can be repaired by reconstructive or cosmetic surgery.2-3 For example, reshaping a nose to improve its
Once reconstructive surgery arrived in America, the results from World War I gave many surgeons more motivation to perform these operations. World War I was the most dangerous time period to be in especially for the soldiers that were serving. Stated in a ABOUT article, “World War I presented physicians with scores of severe facial wounds and burns, changing the history of plastic surgery”(par. 3). There were many weapons that were used during the war that caused the most severe injuries in history. So many surgeons did not know how to aid the wounded because of the new weapons that were used. In fact, some surgeons dedicated most of their talent to creating new techniques to help men of the war. Once these surgeons realized the affect the appearance had on an individual, plastic surgery became much more common in America.
Society has always valued beauty. In literature, attractiveness often symbolizes an admirable protagonist, while ugliness indicates the abominable antagonist. As children we are taught, without even realizing it, to prize beauty. People of every race and culture have gone to extremes in the name of beauty – from foot-binding in China, to dangerously constricting corsets in Victorian times, to nose jobs in 800 B.C. India. While plastic surgery has been around since ancient times, it has only recently become accepted by the masses.
Cosmetic surgery is an element of plastic surgery that alters and revamps a personage’s appearance to make them glean an augmented look. People of every race and culture have gone to extremes in the name of beauty. From perilously formulating corsets in Victorian times, to foot binding in China and nose jobs in 800 B.C. India (Melody,