The Book

Widely acknowledged as the father of plastic surgery, Sir Harold Gillies was years ahead of his time.

Born in New Zealand in 1882, Harold Gillies came to England to study medicine at Cambridge and then at Barts in London. The horrific facial injuries suffered by soldiers in the trenches during the First World War inspired Gillies to research historic methods of reconstructing damaged tissues. He taught his newly developed techniques to the first generation of plastic surgeons.

During peace time he struggled long and hard to establish aesthetic surgery as a respected discipline. Despite early opprobrium from the medical establishment, he went on to enjoy enormous professional success.

This account of Sir Harold Gillies, written by medical practitioner Richard Petty, includes an overview of his published works and the historic sources of his inspirations. Richard Petty is a London medical practitioner. Like Gillies, he was a Caius and Barts man. During his student days he wrote this account of Gillies' life and works as his 1962 Wix Prize Entry, and the book serves well as a look back into the history of plastic surgery.

Below are some excerpts from the book:

“Gillies threw himself into the challenging work of plastic surgery with enormous drive and enthusiasm. His knowledge, in fact, was very little at this time and he was compelled to rely upon his own experience of general and otolayrngologicial surgery, and the sparse published work that was available.”

“With little regret but much soul searching, Gillies decided to abandon the world that Sir Milsom Rees offered him - the world of celebrities and royalty, and contacted St Bartholomew's. He was immediately offered a choice of two posts: that of an assistant in general surgery with a chance of practising plastic surgery on the side, or that of chief assistant to the Ear, Nose and Throat department with the certain opportunity of being able to concentrate wholeheartedly on plastic surgery. Not surprisingly he accepted the latter with alacrity.”

“Sir Harold was undoubtedly the surgeon favoured by high society. He was consulted by numerous luminaries and socialites for the repair of injuries sustained in car crashes and hunting accidents. The newspapers were only too anxious to report such cases as that of Daisy Kennedy, the violinist wife of John Drinkwater, whose scars Sir Harold removed at the St Mary Abbott's Hospital in March, 1937.”

“In 1946 Sir Harold was one of the instigators of the formation of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons. The aims of the organisation were to propogate the art and science of plastic surgery within the framework of surgery itself, and to stimulate understanding and cooperation between plastic surgeons and the medical profession and public.”