Harold Gillies: The Face of a Hero
Lasting Impact
Published Works
1920
Plastic Surgery of the Face
Courtesy of Harold Gillies, Internet Archive
"Gillies also published his first book, Plastic Surgery of the Face, a training manual for surgeons wishing to specialize in the area. The book illustrates techniques he employed, such as skin grafts, body tubes, and prosthetics. It also reminds the reader that the intensive surgeries were only possible because of antiseptic practices and anesthesia. Gillies included successful results as well as his results that were not immediate or varied in success. Doing so provided the progression of the techniques he tested and showed why he abandoned some while others became a standard procedure. He explained that the treatment timelines could range from six months to three years and some patients sustained permanent disabilities. Gillies’s first book also includes contributions from many colleagues including Wade, one of his anesthetists from The Queen’s Hospital, who wrote a passage regarding anesthetics and anesthesiology."
~ McInnis, Riley, "Harold Delf Gillies". Embryo Project Encyclopedia ( 2022-05-31 ). ISSN: 1940-5030 https://hdl.handle.net/10776/13336
1957
The Principles and Art of Plastic Surgery, volumes I and II
Source: Toovey's antique and fine art auctioneers
"In 1957, Gillies published two books, The Principles and Art of Plastic Surgery, volumes I and II, in collaboration with David Ralph Millard, Jr., a plastic surgeon from the United States who studied under him. The book was an exploration of Gillies’s life and time as a plastic surgeon, ranging from his beginnings to the two World Wars he worked through, and what techniques he learned, created, and taught. Other chapters of the book include approaches to and techniques used in hand surgery, as well as treatments for lymphedema, a condition where extra lymph fluid builds up in tissues and causes swelling, congenital deformities, skin tumors and genital lesions. A review of the volumes in the Journal of the American Medical Association explains that Gillies’s books may be called textbooks but that they are engaging like fairytales when reading, while still being of historical and practical importance to the field of plastic surgery."
Source: McInnis, Riley, "Harold Delf Gillies". Embryo Project Encyclopedia ( 2022-05-31 ). ISSN: 1940-5030 https://hdl.handle.net/10776/13336
Modern Day Medicine
"In 1946, Gillies used the knowledge he gained while operating on the genitalia of wounded soldiers and began the four-year process of one of the first sexual reassignment surgeries, called gender affirmation surgery as of 2022. He completed the phalloplasty by constructing an entirely new male organ from skin and tissue with grafts... The patient, Laurence Michael Dillon, was a transgender British doctor, and the procedure that Gillies performed has not changed significantly as of 2022. Dillon is considered one of the first transsexuals, called a transgender person as of 2022, who elected to have sexual reassignment surgery or gender affirmation surgery... Eventually, the testosterone had changed Dillon’s body to a point where those who met him assumed that he was male."
Source: McInnis, Riley, "Harold Delf GIllies (1882 - 1960)". Embryo Project Encyclopedia ( 2022-05-31 ). ISSN: 1940-5030 https://hdl.handle.net/10776/13336
Following in His Footsteps
"Sir Archibald McIndoe (far left) toasting to a former patient and their bride, August 1947"
Source: New Zealand History
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/archibald-mcindoe
Archibald McIndoe is Gillies' cousin, once removed. After studying under Gilles, McIndoe also pursued a trailblazing career in this specialty.
"During the Battle of Britain, 35 horribly burnt fighter pilots were sent to McIndoe for treatment. Standard treatment for serious burns at this time was to cover the wounds with tannic acid – the idea being that this would dry out the affected area and allow the dead skin to be removed. Unfortunately, this process was extremely painful and left patients with extensive scarring. McIndoe was convinced there was a better solution. Noting that burnt pilots who bailed out into the sea were less scarred than others, he developed the practice of bathing patients in saline. This proved to be a much gentler treatment process, with the saline solution improving healing times and survival rates for patients with extensive burns."
~ New Zealand History https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/archibald-mcindoe
Gillies died on September 10, 1960 in London. Although he may be gone, his work lives on through his teachings and the heroic surgeons of today who carry on his legacy everyday while treating patients.
Dr. Stephen Goldie
Photo Source: Daily Record, Handout
This is Mr. Stephen Goldie MD, Ph.D, a practicing plastic surgeon in Melbourne, Australia (and family friend). During our interview he spoke about the importance of plastic surgery, in his words, "Plastic surgeons help people who need reconstructive surgery after accidents and cancer. We also operate to help children who are born with birth defects." Additionally when asked about the tube pedicle, Goldie says, "I have even seen some of the very early patients who were treated in this way at the Canniesburn hospital in Glasgow. The technique is still used today for some things, but is less common." Thanks to Gillies' legacy, people like Goldie are able to help restore function and looks to those who have faced traumatic hardships.
"Today, Gillies is often referred to as the 'father of plastic surgery'. Many of the techniques he developed during the First World War are still used in modern reconstructive surgeries.
The concept of cosmetic surgery also emerged as a result of Gillies’ work. His desire to restore normal appearance, as well as functionality, was revolutionary. For the first time, patients could choose the nose or jaw their doctors would build for them.
Even so, the surgery Gillies' patients received was born of necessity. Their situation was a far cry from the purely cosmetic face lifts and nose jobs we see today."
~ National Army Museum
Clip from "Faces from the Front"
In his lecture, Andrew Bamji discusses the importance of Gillies' work and the effect he had on other people.
Source: Andrew Bamji, Royal Society