INTRODUCTION
The very first incident that comes to an Indian mind on the mere mention of this term is “plastic surgery ka naam suna hai… .chaar crore rupiye kharch kiye hai iske muh pe plastic daalne ke liye”- delivered by Akshay kumar in the movie Phir Hera Pheri. Yes, it is true that the general perception of a layman in India is somewhat similar.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons “Plastic Surgery includes the repair, reconstruction, or replacement of physical defects of form or function involving the skin, musculoskeletal system, cranio-maxillofacial structures, hand, extremities, breast and trunk, and external genitalia or cosmetic enhancement to these areas of the body” Flipping through the pages of history, we come across the ancient Indian surgeon Sushruta (700–600 BC) who originally described the value of pedicle for the viability of flaps. He utilized pedicle-based cheek flaps, “Sānubandhen Jèvitah (through continuity it lives),” to reconstruct the nose and ears.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The National Day of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is celebrated every year on July 15. There is quite a history to it. Dr. Raja Sabapathy who was the president of APSI (Association of Plastic Surgeons of India) suggested the idea to launch and celebrate the aforementioned event on July the 15th every year -the main objective being generation of awareness among general public and individuals related to medicine alike. After continued efforts through seminars, events, marches etc. the APSI finally managed to draw global attention to this effort in 2021 when the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons) declared July 15 as the “World Plastic Surgery Day”
CHALLENGES
The main challenge still remains that this specialty is not received as well as understood that clearly as its counterparts. This misunderstanding is not only reserved to the general public but medicos alike. The main motivation behind creation of this program is to build awareness and capacity so as to curb extremely inflating prices in treatment in low and middle income countries like India and to provide a unified platform to the practitioners for knowledge sharing and expertise exchange
CONCLUSION
We can only hope and hope for the best that this specialty receives its due attention and appreciable changes showcase themselves on the ground level.
-Prabhat Shaurya ( MBBS, NMCH )
Editor – Madiha Fatma ( MBBS, MMCH )
