Plastic Surgery and Plastic Materials - What Do The Two Have In Common?
While the sub specialty of medicine known as Plastic Surgery (one of the 22 recognized specialties of medicine) is now so incredibly common, there are few who would not know what it is. But yet, I will occasionally get asked this question by a new patient during our consultation...'now tell me where the plastic goes'...or...'will the plastic used in the operation get infected?' Indicating that some still believe that the name 'plastic' in Plastic Surgery relates to a material and that plastic surgery operations involve putting in plastic materials. While the time periods of development for both Plastic Surgery and plastic materials are similar, there is no direct link between the two. It was not given its name because it used plastic materials in surgery. The Greek word, 'plastikos', which means to mold, shape, or give form to is the meaning behind the naming of the medical specialty Plastic Surgery. And this is certainly an accurate description of what...