Plastic Surgeon Dr. S. Raja Sabapathy from Ganga Hospital Coimbatore has declared July 15th as National Plastic Surgery Day.
Plastic Surgery originated from India, and Sushruta is hailed by all as the founder of Plastic Surgery. Now, we can also be proud that the World Plastic Surgery day has been conceptualised from India - Dr. S. Raja Sabapathy, Chairman of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Ganga Hospital.
Coimbatore: A proud moment for plastic surgeons across the nation, as the "National Plastic Surgery Day" conceptualised by city-based globally acclaimed Plastic Surgeon Dr. S. Raja Sabapathy of Ganga Hospital, here will henceforth be observed as "World Plastic Surgery day".
In a bid to increase awareness about plastic surgery among the masses, Dr.S. Raja Sabapathy, Head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Ganga Hospital in 2011 conceptualised 15 July of every year as "National Plastic Surgery". His vision kick-started in a noble way with plastic surgeons across the country offering one free surgery along with awareness sessions and articles in medical journals, on the day.
After successfully completing a decade, the idea of observing national Plastic surgery day was discussed in a meeting of the Presidents of Plastic Surgery associations of various countries organized by the American Society for Plastic Surgery, recently. At the conference, the current President of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI) Dr.Rakesh Khazanchi, spoke about the National Plastic Surgery Day’s success in India amid the World Council of Leaders, a body consisting of the Presidents of all National Associations. Following which it was unanimously decided to observe July 15 of every year as World Plastic Surgery day.
Recalling the need to highlight the day, Dr. Raja Sabapathy said that Plastic Surgery has two major divisions-Reconstructive Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery. Plastic Surgeons play a significant role helping poor people to lead normal lives. But are often missed due to lack of awareness. In some fields like diabetic foot ulcers, the contribution by a Plastic Surgeon can prevent amputations, lymphedema (elephantiasis) where they can help to reduce the size of the legs. Ganga Hospital is a leader in the field of Plastic Surgical teaching, having trained over 2150 surgeons from 70 countries, he briefed in a press note.
While elaborating on how the term Plastic Surgery was derived, Dr. Raja Sabapathy said that in Greek, the word “Plasticos” means ‘to mould’. Plastic Surgery got its name as early as 1818, when Dr. Von Graffe, a German surgeon wrote a book on the subject.
The speciality got its name, since the surgeons who practiced this field of surgery moulded the tissues to make them more functional and aesthetic. The material plastic that we use also got its name since it could be moulded into any shape. The first developed plastic material, the Bakelite was invented only in 1907. So, Plastic Surgery got its name almost a century before Plastics came into existence, explained Dr. Raja Sabapathy who holds various honorable posts in the field of hand and reconstructive surgery.