subject: The History Of Rhinoplasty [print this page] An Indian doctor that lived around 600 BC who went by the single name Sushruta was widely considered the "Father of Surgery", but he was also regarded as the "Father of Plastic Surgery". Sushruta wrote extensively about plastic surgery techniques in his famous medical text named the Sushruta Samhita. Although the Sushruta Samhita contains encyclopedic knowledge about ancient Indian or Ayurvedic medicine, the text goes into amazing detail on plastic surgery techniques and tools that are in use today.
The rhinoplasty procedure became common place in ancient India because the nose is a sign of respect and dignity within Indian culture and for that very reason nose amputation became a widespread punishment for criminal offenses. The need to repair damage like this and other punishments such as ear amputations fostered an environment where surgical techniques could be discovered and innovated on an endless supply of patients willing to pay for their reconstruction.
Although plastic surgery and Rhinoplastic reconstruction had been innovated most in the subcontinent of India, there were also attempts at reconstructive process in ancient Rome. Unfortunately, religious reasons prevented Europe's scientists from dissecting human cadavers for centuries until cadaver dissection eventually became common practice in all medical schools.
With the British conquest of India came British surgeons who studied the ancient Ayurvedic procedures for nasal reconstruction and brought them to light in the Western Hemisphere through a published article in Gentlemen's Magazine in 1794. Joseph Constantine Carpue, an eventually famous British surgeon, studied in India for 20 years learning the ancient art of nasal reconstruction. Upon returning to London, the surgeon demonstrated the new procedure which made use of a flap of skin cut from the forehead to reconstruct the nose.
Carpue famously performed this procedure in 1814 on a British soldier whose nose was destroyed by mercury treatments. This soon became known as "Carpue's operation" even though the procedure had possibly been performed for over two thousand years before Carpue became a doctor. After continuing to develop in 19th century Europe, Rhinoplasty became immensely popular in the United States during the early 20th century after the development of procedures to repair disfigured WWI and WWII vets. Dr. Vilray Blair became one of the greatest innovators in repairing these kinds of war wounds in the United States.
Very few patients know of the very long and complex history of the rhinoplasty spanning from ancient India to modern clinics, but that knowledge can often reassure those patients that think they are undergoing a dangerous procedure that hasn't been around very long.
