Unbelievable Story Of First Plastic Surgery In History

Painful practice emerged from the horrors of WWI.

There is always a first time for everything; while we don’t know the origin of many, there are few that we know the origin of, and one of these few is the first ever plastic surgery.

In this day and age where plastic surgery is a relatively safe procedure; however, it has not always been the same.

The first and most modern plastic surgery ever recorded was performed during the time of the first world war, a risky procedure that could have killed Walter Yeo, the man who was willing to take the risk.

Walter was willing to risk it all because he didn’t want to live the whole of his life with a face that was severely disfigured in battle.

Sir Harold Gillies, the doctor willing to give it a go, wanted to do something big or something that would not only get his name written in the history book but also revolutionize plastic surgery.

Let’s dig more about the procedure that changed the world for the better:

Why Did Walter Need A Plastic Surgery In The First Place

Walter has loved the seas since he was just a child, and this can be seen from the age that he joined the Royal Navy — which was at the age of twelve.

The ship where Walter met his fate was Queen Elizabeth’s class battleship in the battle of Jutland in 1916.

The injuries that he got during the battle were so severe that most of his face was burnt — but the worst injury was sustained by the upper part of the face, where both upper and lower eyelids were completely gone leaving Walter unable to blink.

Not much is known about what happened just after he got injured, but it was a long wait after he got admitted to Plymouth Hospital and got stabilized.

Fifteen months after he got injured, he was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital for further procedures.

The Famous Doctor At The Queen Mary Hospital

Sir Harold Gillies, the one and only doctor that could have helped Walter Yeo.

Sir Harold was really interested in the case of Walter Yeo because he was becoming really famous after his discovery of Skin-Grafting — where he would take skin from undamaged body parts and use it on areas that were damaged.

Even when the case of Walter Yeo was something that he had never treated before but if he did, it would make his name famous all over the globe.

Because Walter had to wait for much more than a year to be treated at Queen Mary’s Hospital, his already disfigured face started to become worse.

The scar tissue had already started to form up on parts of his nose and forehead.

Furthermore, because Sir Harold himself was interested in the case, he opened a special ward for people with facial disfigurations only.

It was in this ward the first ever procedures of plastic surgeries took place, treatments that would change the history of medicine forever.

The Horrifying Methods Of The First Plastic Surgery

The method to treat Walter was somewhat closer to skin grafting.

They worked in a way where some of his skin and soft tissue would be taken from the body and attached to the flesh, which was damaged, to regrow in a natural way.

Each end would be severed several times in order to move the patch closer and closer to the target, where it would complete the healing process.

It would be healthy enough for the flesh to grow on its own and be one with the body.

The problem with Walter’s care was the area which was to be treated; not only was it disfigured, but it was not a small area either.

And if it had been treated in patches, it would have looked much worst than what it already was; so it was necessary to keep in mind both the treating and aesthetic sides of the treatment given.

Recreating Walter’s Face

The process wasn’t easy for anyone, whether it be Walter or his doctor, Sir Harold.

To recreate Walter’s marred face, Harold had to take an unconventional approach. Unconventional because it was something that never did e before.

Sir Harold made a mask out of Walter’s own skin, which he attached to Walter’s Face, and it was taken special care of until the graft got attached to blood vessels and started to grow on its own.

Making the graft was a daunting task, for which Sir Harold made some extra effort; where he carefully mapped the area that needed grafting.

He then trimmed it to the right size along with two slits for eyes which were then placed on Walter’s face with great care.

The task was extremely difficult and time taking; it took Harold and his team more than two weeks just over this task.

As for Walter, he had to stay as stationary as possible, no matter how much pain he was in or how irritating the whole process was.

The Pain Associated With Recreating Of Face

After reading all that, you might be wondering why the procedure was rather normal; but it was not why?

Well — because of various reasons, and one of the main reasons was the time of 15 months where he was waiting to be admitted to Queen Mary Hospital.

All the scar tissue that formed during that period had to be removed before placing the graft, which meant cutting part of his flesh from his face.

The whole procedure was time taking and delicate.

Even after taking immense care of Walter, things went south really fast after the first surgery, where Walter developed a serious infection that required another surgery just to get rid of it.

However, things got much worse when the mask was placed on his face. This time the infection was so serious that doctors noted the mask was floating on the pus that was beneath it.

Final Words

Life became very hard for Walter after the devastating incident, but the story of Walter is not only about the first ever official plastic surgery which took place but also a story of resilience and willpower.

Walter not only recovered from all the physical devastation but also from the mental trauma that came with it.

After being treated for more than two years, Walter finally went to live a normal life, and even after all that happened to him on the seas his love for it didn’t end — Walter joined the Royal Navy once again.

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