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Beauty: Descent or Ascent? A Plastic Surgeon's Reflection.
Kun Hwang1,2
1Department of Plastic Surgery, Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-City, Gyeonggi-do.
The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery
|October 21, 2025
Summary
Craniofacial surgery views beauty as a circular process, descending into the body and ascending through patient experience. This approach balances technical skill with empathy for holistic well-being.
Area of Science:
- Aesthetic medicine and philosophy
- Plastic and reconstructive surgery
- Psychology and well-being
Background:
- The concept of beauty has historically been debated as either divinely inspired (descent) or spiritually transcendent (ascent).
- Craniofacial surgery operates within this duality, addressing both physical form and the patient's subjective experience of beauty.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the philosophical underpinnings of beauty in the context of craniofacial surgery.
- To highlight the dual nature of beauty as both an inherent quality and an experiential phenomenon.
- To emphasize the practical implications of this duality for surgical practice and patient care.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical analysis of historical concepts of beauty (Hesiod, Plotinus).
- Application of these concepts to the practice of craniofacial surgery (restorative and elective).
- Discussion of the integration of form, function, and psychological well-being in surgical outcomes.
Main Results:
- Beauty in craniofacial surgery is conceptualized as a dynamic, circular process, not a static attribute.
- Surgical interventions can restore "descended" beauty obscured by defects and enhance "ascended" beauty through refinement.
- A holistic approach is necessary, integrating technical precision with empathy and psychological considerations.
Conclusions:
- Craniofacial surgery mediates between the descent of beauty into form and its ascent through lived experience.
- Surgeons must consider beauty as encompassing physical harmony, functional integrity, and psychological state.
- Effective craniofacial practice involves a dialogue between inherited form and aspirational harmony, fostering the circulation of beauty between body and spirit.
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