The presentation of plastic surgery visual data from 1816 to 1916: The evolution of reproducible results

All scientific data should be presented with sufficient accuracy and precision so that they can be both analyzed properly and reproduced. Visual data are the foundation upon which plastic surgeons advance knowledge. We use visual data to achieve reproducible results by discerning details of procedures and differences between pre- and post-surgery images. This review highlights how the presentation of visual data evolved from 1816, when Joseph Carpue published his book on nasal reconstruction to 1916, when Captain Harold Gillies began to treat over 2000 casualties from the Battle of the Somme. It shows the frailties of human nature that led some authors such as Carl von Graefe, Joseph Pancoast and Thomas Mutter to record inaccurate methods or results that could not be reproduced, and what measures other authors such as Eduard Zeis, Johann Dieffenbach, and Gurdon Buck took to affirm the accuracy of their results. It shows how photography gradually supplanted illustration as a reference standard. Finally, it shows the efforts that some authors and originators took to authenticate and preserve their visual data in what can be considered the forerunners of clinical registries.