Where's the Plastic?

The word "plastic" in relation to surgery was first used in the medical literature in 1798. It is derived from the Greek work "Plastikos" which means, "fit to mold." Instead of being named after the material of toy trucks, we predated it by more than 100 years.

Plastic Surgery as a specialty came into being in France and England during WWI to reconstruct the mutilating facial injuries of combat soldiers. The techniques developed to rearrange and "mold" the tissues for the correction of these deformities, were later applied to the problems of aging, and the field of Aesthetic (Cosmetic) Surgery arose.

The modern Plastic Surgeon when doing cosmetic work draws from the knowledge and techniques of these early trauma surgeons in order to "mold" and produce artistic results.