ABSTRACT
Nasal reconstruction occupies a unique position in reconstructive surgery. It provided the inspiration and subsequent framework for the future development of the specialty. However, there is something altogether more absorbing about nasal reconstruction in addition to its rich and wonderful history, for it appears to represent the junction between art and surgery that reconstructive surgeons find so rewarding. For several millennia the nose has come to represent many things to individuals and societies. It defined people’s impressions of beauty, racial origin and even their social status. However, the origins of nasal reconstruction lay in the effect that trauma and amputation had on the individual and the society within which he or she lived.
