The History of Otolaryngology in Plastic Surgery

Achieving Growth and Excellence in Medicine

“…8,21 With family in Boston, he elected to train at Massachusetts General Hospital, having been introduced to Kazanjian through a wartime colleague of the professors. 21 Converse trained under Kazanjian at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear infirmary through 1938 21 then returned to Paris to work with prominent surgeons including Gillies before moving to New York to establish himself.…”

“…11 However, the US National Research Council concurred on the importance of early treatment (and closure when possible) of facial injury, conservative débridement of face and hands, avoidance of removing bone fragments with soft-tissue attachment, and early coverage of all extensive denudations by skin grafting or flaps. 11 Dissemination of knowledge among civilians was primarily through informal observation of the best-known practitioners, 10 so to organize and perpetuate interest, the American Association of Oral Surgeons was founded in 1921 (now the American Association of Plastic Surgeons) 8,10 and in 1931, the body now referred to as the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons was established. 8 In 1937, the American Board of Plastic Surgery was founded largely due to the drive of Vilray Blair to standardize the field.…”

“…11 Dissemination of knowledge among civilians was primarily through informal observation of the best-known practitioners, 10 so to organize and perpetuate interest, the American Association of Oral Surgeons was founded in 1921 (now the American Association of Plastic Surgeons) 8,10 and in 1931, the body now referred to as the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons was established. 8 In 1937, the American Board of Plastic Surgery was founded largely due to the drive of Vilray Blair to standardize the field. 10 Blair had returned to St. Louis as a civilian to lead academic plastic surgery, creating a center of excellence for cleft lip repair which endured for decades.…”

“…Aided by Major Robert H. Ivy, 3,10,11 both men traveled to England to learn from Gillies, before undertaking full clinical responsibilities. 8,11 The Aldershot unit moved to larger facilities in Sidcup in 1917 where friendly competition among the "Colonial" teams from America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand further raised standards while treating over 11,000 cases. 3,[11][12][13] The US Army units in France served largely to prepare maxillofacial casualties for evacuation to designated hospitals in the United States, a concept Blair borrowed from Gillies.…”

“…1 He returned to the United Kingdom pressing for multidisciplinary care (surgeons, dentists, specialist anesthetists, prosthodontists) for maxillofacial casualties. 5,8,13 Gillies established the first military unit devoted to maxillofacial and plastic surgery cases in Aldershot, 5,8 which received 2000 facial casualties just from the first day of the battle of the Somme. 12,13 His team tackled mandibular defects and massive wounds rarely if ever seen in civilian practice with bone and soft tissue from other regions of the body, a virtually unheard of practice at the time.…”