The Start of Facial Disfigurement

Civil War is known as the BLOODIEST war

Something to keep in mind when conitniung reading about facial disfugure
"Plastic surgery" comes to mind to people for people who want to go under the knife. Some people get plastic surgery to be more attractive or to even look younger. For soldiers in the Civil War it is a different story. The term "plastic" in plastic surgery use to be on object that could be shaped and sculpted meaning a patient's skin and soft tissue. Now plastic surgery has to use of organic polymers.
The face is a biological organ and looks different on each person. The face has many functions as well like retaining body water and regulating heat. The mouth on the face and allows the consumption of food and drinks and the ability to speak.
Facial disfigurement can cause people to have altered body image, reduced quality of life, and to have low-esteem and this also cause social anxiety, social avoidance, and etc.
Several studies have shown patients with facial surgery have an improvement of self-concept, self-identity, self-esteem, and self-conflict.
Facial transplantation has been important for people with severe facial defects such as victims of burns, trauma, tumors, and etc.

Work Citied:

National Museum of Civil War Medicine 'Mending the Broken Faces of War": https://www.civilwarmed.org/facial-reconstruction/

Facial Disfigurement and Identity: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Facial Transplantation: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/facial-disfigurement-and-identity-review-literature-and-implications-facial-transplantation/2018-04

The Civil War and the Army Medical Museum: The Shaping of American Medical Science: https://www.civilwarmed.org/army-medical-museum/

The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion: https://www.mcgill.ca/medicalmuseum/exhibits/warbones/amm/mshwr

George Otis

Army Medical Museum curator George Otis reported ONLY 32 cases of "Plastic Operations" in the first surgical volume of the "Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion" (MSHWR) in 1870. Only 29 out of the 32 cases were reported for gunshot injuries of the face during the war. Even though there were "ten thousands in numbers."

Medical and Surgical History of the War Rebellion (MSHWR)

Issued by William Hammond on June 9, 1862.
His plan was to gather data about the sick and the wounded.
Collect surgical specimen from the battlefields and military hospitals to study.
In (MSHWR) part 3 in volume 2 page 19 there is gangrene with a gunshot wound in the femoral artery.

Here are some of the few that has been affected from the Civil War. They face physical and mental wounds.....

Private Joseph Harvey

One person that has been injured during the Civil War and left him disfigured is Private Joseph Harvey who was wound at the battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863 by a shell fragment. His upper right jawbone was fractured, a fragment was chipped off the lower jaw. and the right cheek was torn. He remained a prisoner for eleven days by the enemy. He was admitted into Mansion House Hospital in Alexandra in June 1863. Portions of exfoliated bone were removed. His cheek remained unrepaired and liquids and saliva came out of his cheeks. He was slightly deaf and partial facial paralysis on his right side.

Private William H. Nims

Private William H. Nims was wounded on June 17, 1864, at the Battle of Petersburg on June 17, 1864. Surgeon Thomas Crosby removed bone splinters and the surgeon just stitched his wounds together without any attempts of facial reconstruction. Nims suffer a lot because of his deformity made his wound feel even worse.

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