Before and After

June 14, 2004 9:43 AM

Before and After
Cosmetic surgery was born 2,500 years ago and came of age in the inferno of the Western Front. The Great War not only gave birth to plastic surgery as a modern medical specialty but also marked a rare moment when the proponents of reconstructive or “serious” surgery and the defenders of cosmetic or “frivolous” surgery declared a truce in what would become a long and morally charged battle.
posted by Irontom (3 comments total)

A year later the New York Daily Mirror ran a contest “to take the homeliest girl in the biggest city in the country and to make a beauty of her.”--like The Swan (and ugh!)

Very interesting piece--thanks Irontom!
posted by amberglow at 3:13 PM on June 14, 2004

Excellent post Irontom!
posted by weston at 10:57 PM on June 14, 2004

Of related interest, Sir Archibald McIndoe and the Guinea Pig Club, recently featured in a BBC4 documentary (gallery here).
posted by raygirvan at 5:48 AM on June 15, 2004