Features
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...
