The Relationship ISAPS-IPRS and Aesthetic-Reconstructive Plastic Surgery
Since the beginning this relationship has been of utmost importance for the Specialty and of its branch “Aesthetic Surgery”. It is still today and will remain so in the future.
From the beginning, the four Plastic Surgeons who met in Sao Paulo to write the first Constitution and Bylaws expressed the opinion that one of the most important goals was not to separate, but to maintain Aesthetic Surgery within the Specialty of Plastic Surgery. Thus, the International Society to be formed would not only wished to be affiliated with the International Confederation for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery but would also keep the word “Plastic” in its title to demonstrate the background of its members as Specialists in Plastic Surgery.
Ernesto Malbec had stated that he felt that he preferred that the Society should be called “International Society of Aesthetic Surgery”, eliminating the word “Plastic”. This was opposed in Bogota by Salvador Castañares and by the vote of the majority of those attending(27).
Actually two philosophical concepts were conflicting: on one side, the aim was to strengthen our origin, Plastic Surgery and the Confederation. On the other side, there were doubts about the willingness of the Confederation, at present, to adequately protect Aesthetic Surgery for the Plastic Surgeon. It was necessary to further much more Aesthetic Surgery and its training than previously done by the Confederation and by the National Societies, in order that Aesthetic Surgery could assume its proper place within our Specialty(13,10).
- At the IPRS Congress in Paris, 1975, the ISAPS definitely became the Chapter of Aesthetic Surgery of the IPRS, with full acceptance as far as maintaining its own name and emblem.
As a proof, John Watson’s letter to William Manchester: “It was, of course, fully established in Paris that the Host Society must have full control of the overall program and would allocate time and space to the Chapter for scientific and administrative functions, and would also agree on the timing of any independent social program which the Chapter might organize. At the same time the Chapter is an integral part of the IPRS, is its instrument for working in the aesthetic field. I have never envisaged that once the Chapter has been created it would not be used at the Congress, and if I had, I would have suggested a new Bylaw giving them automatically majority representation of the Aesthetic Scientific Program Committee at any World Congress”.