16th Century Rhinoplasty

Gaspare Tagliacozzi, professor of surgery at the University of Bologna in Italy, published a book titled De Curtorum Chirurgia Per Insitionem (The Surgery of Defects by Implantations) in 1597. It describes procedures used to repair faces damaged by war -in other words, plastic surgery.
The tome, which is written in Latin, is illustrated with diagrams, including the rhinoplasty, in which the patient's nose was attached to a flap of skin from his upper arm.

In one plate, the patient is seen in bed with his forearm attached to his head and a flap of skin from his bicep region stuck onto his nose.

The book tells how he stayed like that for about three weeks until the skin from his arm had attached itself properly.

After a further two weeks the flap of skin was shaped so it resembled a nose and the process was complete.

After Tagliacozzi's death, the procedures were forgotten in Europe, probably because of the disapproval of religious authorities. A rare copy of the book was recently sold for £11,000 -to a plastic surgeon. Link -via TYWKIWDBI

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I'd like to point out that the comment that the medical techniques were forgotten in Europe "probably because of the disapproval of religious authorities" is gratuitous and otiose. This comment does not reflect the more tentative wording of Christopher Albury's speculation, that "This might have been because it was not approved by the religious authorities at the time who might have considered him interfering with God's work."

Mr Albury is associated with the auction house, and there is no indication in the Daily Mail article that he is a historian and doing anything more than speculating ("this might ... who might..."). To repeat his speculations with more certitude (replacing his "might" with "probably") merely creates misinformation and reflects prejudice.
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