The Reconstruction of Plastic Surgery: A Historical Perspective on the Etymology of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Abstract

Although the origins of procedures now falling under the scope of modern plastic surgery date back thousands of years, it was only fairly recently that these were grouped under the umbrella term “plastic” surgery. However, mainly due to the industrialization period, the popular understanding of the term “plastic” would soon change—making way for the addition of the term “reconstructive” to the specialty's name. Through a careful look at historical trends, the authors illustrate how this unintentionally led to an ideological divide between the aesthetic and reconstructive portions of our work, prompting a recent push to unify the field under the one, original, lexical choice: “plastic” surgery.