Since the late 9th century, the vigorous development of science and technology and the constant emergence of new weapons have caused unprecedented casualties in the First World War in 19 14. Although the soldiers learned to go deep into the trenches to protect their bodies, the head and face exposed from the trenches became the target of attack, and the biggest threat was the fragments after the Grenade exploded. Unlike straight wounds caused by bullets, those twisted metal shrapnel will directly tear the soldier's face. Even though the war doctors saved their lives, many soldiers were disfigured and lost the confidence to be reborn after the war. Some battlefield doctors realized this problem and began to devote themselves to the repair and reconstruction of soldiers' disabled faces. Through a series of research and practice, some plastic surgeons, mainly Harold Ghiris, have established a set of "plastic surgery" surgical methods in the modern sense, treated many soldiers disfigured in the battlefield of World War I, and directly promoted the formation of the professional field of modern plastic and reconstruction surgery.

Harold Ghiris is an "otolaryngologist" and is known as "the father of plastic surgery" in medical history. 1882, Ghiris was born in Dunedin, the coastal city of South Island, New Zealand, and then studied medicine at Case College in Conwill, Cambridge University, England. After the outbreak of World War I, Ghiris joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and became a doctor serving his country. At first, he served in a place called Wemler near boulogne, and cooperated with an oral and maxillofacial expert named Valadier to help him repair the chin of disabled soldiers. In the process of cooperation, Ghiris was inspired by Varadier's newborn skin transplantation and decided to go to Paris to consult the famous surgeon Xi paulette Morristine at that time. There, he witnessed the process of removing the tumor from the patient's face and filling it with a small piece of skin on his chin. Ghiris quickly learned this method and invented a new flap technique. He cut a piece of skin from a healthy body, folded it up and sewed it on the injured part. Because the end of this skin is still connected to the skin harvesting site through a skin "tube", this technique is also called "tube pedicle technique". Although this "tube" looks particularly scary, the effect is not bad. When the skin is folded, it will shut off all living tissues and blood supply, and also reduce the risk of wound infection. The theoretical basis of this technology is that skin flap is a tissue block composed of skin and subcutaneous tissue, which can be transferred from one part of the body to another. Ghiris used this technology to treat many soldiers disfigured by the war on the battlefield of World War I. ..

Although there are many cases of facial plastic surgery in the long river of ancient history, the establishment of plastic surgery in the real modern sense is still due to Gillis' clinical practice in the battlefield of World War I. 19 15, Gillis built a temporary operating table in the trench to take charge of facial plastic surgery. 19 16, Walter, a 27-year-old heavy gunner of the Royal Navy, was severely disfigured in the naval battle of Jutland. In order to repair Walter's badly injured face, Ghiris cut off a piece of skin from Walter's shoulder and transplanted it into his bloody face, thus completing the facial repair. Later, Roger Green, archivist and surgeon of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, defined this operation as the first skin flap plastic surgery in modern medicine. In the subsequent Battle of the Somme, Ghiris and his colleagues successively treated more than 2,000 patients with cheek defects, which made great contributions to the British military medical field in World War I. ..

Ghiris and his colleagues constantly innovate plastic surgery methods in practice. According to Thirny's "history of surgery", they will repair the expanded tubular skin flap or fat extensively to make up for the damage caused by burns or shells to the lips, nose and other five senses. In addition, there are holes in the transplanted tissues of eyes and mouth, so that patients can live a normal life before the blood supply is restored and the wound heals. As for those soldiers who could not close their eyes because of eyelid burns, Ghiris also transplanted skin for their reconstruction, and later used this technology to treat those who were disfigured by leprosy.

Ghiris is a facial reconstruction artist. Many disfigured people can only wear masks in public, but after his plastic surgery, his face is natural, and he has even entered the marriage hall and regained his confidence in life. In his spare time, Ghiris devoted himself to studying a large number of related books and learning to use various plastic and reconstruction methods to achieve perfect results. Before each operation, he spends a lot of time and energy designing on paper, or using wax, gypsum and other materials as models to ensure foolproof. He often tells his followers that facial repair is hard work, and a case of facial repair may require multiple operations to complete, so you must be patient enough.

Under the impetus of Ghiris and his colleagues, plastic surgery began to rise in Britain, and many hospitals began to set up special wards and beds to help people injured in the lower part of the battlefield or other situations. 19 17, Ghiris persuaded the authorities to set up a special ward for treating facial injuries and burns at Queen Mary Hospital in Sidkarp, Kent. During the period of1917-1921year, Ghiris and his colleagues performed more than 1 1000 operations and saved more than 5,000 injured people's mutilated faces. In recognition of Ghiris's contribution in the war, the British authorities conferred a knighthood on the Queen's birthday in June 1930. William Abnott-Ryan, a British surgeon and physicist, commented: "Better late than never. 」

The development of medicine is tortuous. Even though plastic surgery had many benefits, it was still regarded as a sideline by traditional surgeons at that time. In order to make plastic surgery recognized by the public, Ghiris continued to engage in medical research with outstanding doctors such as raynesford Mowlam after World War I, and toured around to give lectures and publicize the most advanced plastic surgery technology to the world. 1930, he invited his cousin, Sir archibald mcindoe, a famous plastic surgeon in the future, to join him, and suggested that he apply for the post of doctor at St. Balloteau Muir Hospital. McIntyre later served as the chief physician and lecturer of plastic surgery at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and became a leader in the field of plastic surgery. After the outbreak of World War II, he performed many successful plastic surgery on pilots with severe burns and facial disfigurement, which laid an important foundation for the development of plastic surgery and reconstruction research after World War II. In order to give psychological comfort to the soldiers in the long recovery process, MacInto also founded the "Guinea Pig Club" for the disfigured soldiers in 194 1 to give them psychological counseling. After World War II, Sir MacInto also helped to establish the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, and served as the third chairman of the association. On March 22nd, after MacIntosh's death, 196 1, Queen Victoria Hospital established the Blond-MacIntosh Research Unit in his memory. However, neither Sir MacIntosh's achievements nor the rapid development of plastic surgery in Britain can be separated from the hard work and careful guidance of Harold Ghiris. Ghiris is a well-deserved "originator of modern plastic surgery".

(Excerpted from Faber, Qiu and Medical Beauty Information Network)