Dear Sir,
The knowledge of plastic surgery is growing by leaps and bounds with every passing
day. We have come a long way from Sushruta to Gillies to the current generation of
plastic surgeons. It cannot be emphasized better by anything than by Isaac Newton’s
quote of 1675 (where he states that “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”) that where we are today is because of the works of our predecessors. The author
has observed that the Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery honors such giants in the
“Icon of the issue section” where either a student or a close relative of the masters
who are no longer with us narrates his/her life, principles, and contributions to
plastic surgery. Besides this the Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery also publishes
obituaries of prominent contributors to the field. In author’s opinion, since these
are biographies written by someone else, there are bound to be some aspects which
cannot be clearly brought out as the person about whom it is written is no longer
with us. There is also a definite possibility that the analysis and perspective of
the biographer and that of about whom it is written could have been entirely different!
Hence the author proposes that the Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery should, besides
these biographies, publish interviews of the “living legends” of plastic surgery who
are available with us for a dialogue and whose perspective and lives could be brought
out directly from the legends themselves. Such interviews would give us an accurate
account of not just the accomplishments but also of lives, struggles, mistakes, and
regrets, if any, of those who have contributed significantly to plastic surgery. They
would prove to be a huge source of learning to the younger generations of plastic
surgeons and inspire the promising surgery postgraduates to take up plastic surgery
as superspecialty. It will also make for an interesting read for nonplastic surgeons
(to whom the usual technical articles in plastic surgery are of no interest) and promote
our specialty to the colleagues in other specialties. In account of any questions
being missed by the interviewer (a possible human error …), it can be asked by the
readers as a letter to the editor or be addressed directly to the legend and published
in the next issue of Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery. Such interviews can be preserved
for posterity and eventually replace (once we have honored our past masters and regularly
publish the interviews of the living legends) the current format. After all, one does
not become an icon only after passing away! To the author the idea that a certain
person’s contributions seem significant enough to be published only after he/she is
no longer with us seems like a delayed attempt at reconstruction. Why not preserve
their lives and learn from the masters when they are amongst us? Their lives, work,
and contributions should be recognized right now when they are amongst us to guide
us and show us that beacon of light as a first-hand account.
Plastic surgery is all about being able to “mold into the desired form” for the betterment
of an individual and the author feels that it is the correct time to mold the format
of the Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery to include interviews of living legends whose
exciting lives can be inspirational to many.
Presentation at Meeting
None.
