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Hwang Two innovative plastic surgeons

Figure 1: Sir Harold Delf Gillies Figure 2: Sir Archibald Hector
(1882-1960), Plastic Surgeon McIndoe (1900-1960), Plastic
Surgeon

Henry Tonks with pastels, and by Daryl Lindsay with McIndoe published 12 and 17 papers, respectively.
watercolors. Among them were 2 articles they co-authored. [7,8]

McIndoe was born in New Zealand and studied Gillies wrote “A new principle in the surgical treatment
medicine at the University of Ontago and moved to of “congenital cleft palate” and its mechanical
London at the age of thirty. When McIndoe arrived counterpart” (1921, cited 113 times) and “The design
[9]
in United Kingdom, his cousin Gillies got McIndoe a of direct pedicle flaps” (1932, cited 29 times), [10] among
temporary position at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in others.
London. McIndoe worked here for less than a year
and obtained his British qualifications. Gillies put His technique for the treatment of cleft of hard and soft
McIndoe forward for a lecturer position at the Hospital palate was based on a combined surgical and dental
for Tropical Diseases. McIndoe was successful but he treatment. Soft palate was paired and lengthened
soon became bored of this position, so Gillies invited surgically by separating the soft palate from the hard
him to join his private practice. From 1931 to 1939, palate. A dental apparatus was applied on the hard
they performed hundreds of operations together and palate, and skin graft was applied to the raw anterior
devised new techniques. edge of palate. After healing, Fry’s apparatus was
applied for stretching the soft palate. [9]
In World War II (1939-1945), the survival rates from the
combat wounds increased due to the development of McIndoe developed many new techniques, reflected in
blood transfusion, endotracheal intubation, and rapid his publications which included “Total reconstruction of
evacuation by aircraft. Severe burn cases appeared the burned face. The Bradshaw Lecture” (1958, cited
[5]
due to massive air strike from bombers. Thereafter, 41 times), [11] “Symposium: radiation necrosis” (1947,
burn care significantly advanced during World War II. cited 32 times), [12] “Operation for the cure of adult
hypospadias” (1937, cited 23 times), [13] “Surgical and
Following the outbreak of World War II, McIndoe dental treatment of fractures of the upper and lower
moved to the newly built Queen’s Hospital and treated jaws in war time” (1941, cited 15 times), [14] “The burned
deep burn injuries and serious facial deformities, like hand” (1945, cited 12 times), [15] and “Congenital
the loss of eyelids. absence of the vagina, treated by means of an
indwelling skin-graft” (1938, cited 9 times). [2]
At that time, the standard treatment for burns was
coagulation with tannic acid, which is very painful. He His methods were very innovative and the first
observed different healing rates in extensively burned successful reconstruction for congenital absence
pilots who had come down on land and in the sea. From of the vagina. A hollow vulcanite mold was used,
this, he discovered that immersion in saline promoted which was completely closed at both ends, with the
healing as well as improving survival rates, and thus size and shape of a distended virgin vagina. A split
began saline baths and early grafting instead of tannic thickness skin graft (9.5 inch long by 2.5 inch wide)
acid. He recognized the importance of rehabilitation and was harvested from the inner thigh. An incision was
social reintegration back into normal life. In fact, over made from a point half an inch posterior to the urethral
[1]
eighty percent of his aircrew patients returned to duty. [6] meatus and carried vertically backwards to a point 3/4
inch in front of the anus. Blunt dissection was carried
On arriving home from the museum, I searched for the between the rectum and the bladder and a cavity was
number of papers they wrote and their titles. Gillies and made for the mold. The mold was covered with the
16 Plastic and Aesthetic Research ¦ Volume 4 ¦ February 22, 2017