Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The History of Plastic Surgery,” with Dr. Wendy Chen, plastic, reconstructive, and hand surgeon and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Most people misunderstand plastic surgery as vain and aesthetic, but the origins of this fascinating specialty are much deeper than that.

Come gain a rich understanding of the roots, medical impact, and current wide reach of a life-altering medical specialty with Dr. Wendy Chen, a leading educator on plastic and reconstructive surgery who has won awards for her work in clinical, basic science and education research.

She’ll talk about how reconstructive surgery has been around for thousands of years, with evidence of it having been practiced in ancient Egypt and India, and has made advancements in the course of major wars. Those who practice it have been innovators in medicine, playing a major role in breakthroughs and winning the Nobel prize for kidney transplantation.

The need for plastic and reconstructive surgery has stemmed largely from how much our appearance influences how we navigate our worlds and how others regard us. There was a time, in fact, when people in American prisons were offered plastic surgery as an intervention against recidivism. Yet reconstructive surgery also has faced opposition, such as religious bans on its practice stemming from the belief that physical differences are a manifestation of spiritual sin.

Fast forward to now when plastic surgeons treat patients of every age for every kind of ailment, from congenital differences to trauma to cancer. Yes, some plastic and reconstructive surgery is to help people conform to tabloid- and social media-driven narratives of what defines beauty, but the field involves a lot more than injecting Botox and shaping buttocks. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Talk begins at 4:30. Attendees may arrive any time after 3 pm.)

Image: Reconstructive facial surgery as illustrated by Jean Baptiste Marc Bourgery in the late 1840s (Wellcome Collection / public domain).