thing for the privileged
few, and people in all social classes began to have operations to improve
their appearance. According to American sources, about 1.5 million plastic
surgery operations were performed in the country in 1987, about a third of
which were aesthetic.
The number of practicing plastic surgeons worldwide has increased dramatically.
At the end of the 1960s there were 907 plastic surgeons in the United States.
Today the American Society of Plastic
Surgeons (ASPS) has 5,500 members, more than 5,000 of them practice in the
US and Canada.
Naturally the number of plastic surgeons varies considerably from place to
place. For instance, the Swedish Plastic Surgery Association has 128 members,
about 120 of whom are practicing plastic surgeons. In an international perspective
this is about average, although there are places such as parts of Los Angeles,
California – with more than ten times as many plastic surgeons per inhabitant.
In spite of its small size Sweden has had legendary plastic surgeons. One
was Professor Tord Skoog who studied with Gilliés in England 106. Despite
his too-early death, he is still a great name in international plastic surgery.
He founded the International Confederation of Plastic, Reconstructive and
Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS), and its first meeting was held in Uppsala, Sweden
in 1955. Worldwide this society today has 13,500 members in 86 countries.
Aesthetic and reconstructive surgery
But plastic surgery
is not merely a matter of aesthetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery is at
least equally important. Reconstructive surgery is primarily the province
of doctors working in public health care systems, and ranges from small skin
tumors to major repairs of facial bones and tissues, or restoring mobility
to a paralyzed face. Aesthetic surgery is commonly referred to as cosmetic
surgery. An example is correcting congenital deviations” in appearance, such
as an unusually large nose, protruding ears or a flat bust, or lessening the
effects of aging by removing surplus skin and wrinkles.
