Drei plastische Operationen. - [THE FIRST ACCOUNT OF A BREAST AUGMENTATION]

Berlin, August Hirschwald, 1895. 8vo. In contemporary half cloth with gilt lettering to spine. In: "Verhandlungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chirugie, Vierundzwanzigster Congress abgehalten zu Berlin, 17. - 20. April 1895". A few occassional underlignings i margin, otherwise fine and clean. Pp. 211-217. [Entire volume:] XXXIII, (3), 171, (3), 767 pp + 7 folded coloured plates. First edition of Czerny's landmark paper containing the very first account of a breast augmentation, or breast enhancement surgery, by moving a patient's benign fat-based tumor, known as a lipoma, into the breast to correct asymmetry - a surgery which earned him the title of being "The Father of Plastic Surgery'. "Czerny's patient was a forty-one-year-old singer who reported swelling and pain in her left breast, which had prompted her to seek medical attention. Czerny discovered that a tumor was causing the symptoms in her breast, which he had attributed to a constant, lingering infection of the breast tissue. After repeated consultations with Czerny and another surgeon, the woman agreed to the removal of her left breast. However, because the singer had very large breasts, the removal of one would result in significant asymmetry of her body. Upon further examination, Czerny discovered that the woman also had a fist sized growth on the right side of her lower back. During the operation, Czerny removed both the tumor in the woman's breast and the tumor on her back, and then used tissue from the tumor on her back to reconstruct her left breast. Half a year later, the woman still had tenderness around the operation site on her breast. By December 1894, about one year later, the patient had reported no more tenderness in her breast, and while her reconstructed breast was well-formed, she did note it was slightly smaller and firmer than her right breast. Czerny published his results in 1895." (Zheng, Vincenz Czerny) "He has been called the "Father of Plastic Surgery" for performing the first breast reconstruction. In this work, Czerny discusses the removal of a lipoma (benign fat cell tumor) and transferring it to a woman who had previously undergone a mastectomy. Czerny realized that personal appearance, not just organ reconstruction, was important in motivating a surgeon to operate upon a patient. This is a basic tenet still held and practiced today" (Grolier, The History of Plastic Surgery, no. 55).