History of BAAPS
Timeline of Plastic Surgery
The specialty of Plastic Surgery was established during the First World War to help treat servicemen who had been mutilated in the conflict.
Plastic Surgery became a specialty in its own right just after the Second World War, and was used to reconstruct facial wounds on soldiers at The Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot.
British Wounded Soldiers
Photo taken in 1915
Sir Harold Gillies
One of the founding fathers of Plastic Surgery, Sir Harold Gillies, quickly recognised the potential of this type of surgery and was involved in the creation of a new hospital devoted to facial repairs in Sidcup, which treated thousands of servicemen from all over the world.
Gillies by Negus, painted from a photograph in 1966
Photo courtesy of: The Gillies Archive
The term 'Plastic' was used before the plastics we know today were invented - the term originally meant 'moulding and shaping'
Cosmetic surgery as we know it today evolved naturally from reconstructive surgery, and even now all fully qualified Plastic Surgeons are still trained in reconstructive surgery first.
Over the next 30 years Plastic Surgery developed and special interest groups started to form.
The first meeting of the British Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons was held in 1979.
In 1982, this group was renamed to The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeon
The original BAAPS logo before it was modernised.
Today The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has the same aims as it did all those years ago, to promote excellence in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery by advancing innovation, excellence, education and safety.
BAAPS also provides grant awards for trainee surgeons who present the best papers at the annual conference: these awards enable recipients to travel to international meetings, present their work and gain wider experience.
Over 300 Member surgeons attend these meetings, which forms an essential part of their commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD).