modern cosmetic surgery as we now know it started predominantly in the US in the 1960s and 70s.
Not so long ago plastic and cosmetic surgery were purely seen as a foray of the rich and famous, mostly of whom resided in Hollywood. What many people do not know is that plastic surgery has a long and rich history. For instance, skin grafts for reconstructive work were being used in India as early as the 8th century BC. However, it was not until the advent of anesthesia that plastic surgery took its tentative steps forward, as up until then any surgery on healthy tissue involved great pain. It was during World War I and II that modern plastic surgery really came in leaps and bounds as doctors such as Dr. Vilray Blair, who was the first chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, pioneered many of the modern procedures while treating the injuries that soldiers suffered during that sad period of time.
Modern cosmetic surgery as we now know it started predominantly in the US in the 1960s and 70s. At first there was some stigma attached to having various nips and tucks and other adjustments made; but much has changed over the past 25 years and plastic or cosmetic surgeries are no longer seen as taboos but as relatively easy and quick ways of improving one’s appearance and of increasing self-confidence.
When talking about cosmetic surgery it is important to note that these procedures fall into two main categories, invasive and non-invasive. Invasive cosmetic surgery means that the surgery is generally done under some type of anesthetic and that the medical procedure penetrates the skin or a body cavity. Examples of invasive plastic surgeries include nose reshaping (rhinoplasty), facelifts, breast augmentation or enlargement (augmentation mammaplasty), and liposuction (lipoplasty). On the other hand, non-invasive surgery is defined as a medical procedure that does not mechanically penetrate nor break the skin or a body cavity. Examples include laser skin resurfacing, chemical peeling, collagen treatments, and Botox injections.
With private clinics popping up over the last 25 years and with plastic surgery becoming big business, according to statistics released by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, in 2007 there were some 11.7 million surgical and non-surgical procedures done in the US alone. Another interesting development is that it’s not only women seeking out these improvements.
According to the same statistics, 91% of the patients were women; but more telling is the fact that there was a 17% increase in the number of men having surgery between 2006 and 2007, while there was only a 1% increase amongst women. These statistics only prove that plastic and cosmetic surgeries are an ever-more present and accepted phenomenon in our society, with many famous and prominent people openly admitting to having a few improvements here and there.