Features
Acid Survivors Trust International
The shocking acid attack on two British nationals in Zanzibar in August 2013 drew attention to a little known and under-reported form of interpersonal violence. Acid attack is a particularly vicious form of a premeditated assault, where acid is thrown,...
Patient-Specific Hybrid Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty has changed considerably over the past one hundred years, not only in terms of the surgical techniques used, but also in the outcome desired by patients. There are now a large number of surgical techniques used which deal with...
Training in Facial Plastic Surgery in the UK
Following the Keogh report earlier this year into the quality of cosmetic surgery in the UK, surgical training into cosmetic surgery is high on the agenda. A Cosmetic Surgery Interspecialty Committee at the Royal College of Surgeons will be discussing...
Sir Archibald McIndoe and the Guinea Pig Club
The early life of Sir Archibald McIndoe Archibald Hector McIndoe was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 4th May, 1900. His father John was a printer and mother Mabel an artist. He was the second eldest child of four children....
Mercy Mission: all aboard with Mercy Ships off the coast of West Africa
Countries along the coast of West Africa are amongst the poorest in the world. Extreme levels of poverty often lead to poor outcomes or fatalities in many medical conditions that would be eminently treatable, with good outcomes in more developed...
The Challenge of Renaissance, not Reconstruction: the aftermath of an acid attack
What madness makes a human being perpetrate a crime that is so horrible, so evil that makes it a capital offense (in Bangladesh) even though the death involved is of a person who remains alive? The motivation behind an interpersonal...
A Reaction to the ‘Keogh Report’
In April 2013, the British Government’s report on regulation and safety issues in the cosmetic surgery sector was produced, authored by NHS Medical Director Prof Sir Bruce Keogh. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the British Association of...
Reconstructive Surgery in Post Colonial Africa
Both plastic and maxillo-facial surgery developed out of armed combat. Initially, general surgeons attached to the military might perform reconstructive attempts, but more realistically and pragmatically, destructive surgery was more suited to their situation. Amputation of limbs undoubtedly saved lives...
The First World War and the Development of Facial Surgery
Facial surgery has a history stretching to antiquity, but its success depended on luck until medical science had advanced enough to deal with three major issues – infection, surgical shock from blood loss and good anaesthesia. It was not until...
A Timeline of Plastic Surgery
Where did the name ‘plastic’ surgery come from? It is probable that the first use of the term was by the German von Graefe in his book Rhinoplastik published in 1818. The intention was to describe the moulding of tissue...
