Cosmetic Surgery in Paris in 1926: The Case of the Amputated Leg

In 1926, a young fashion designer went to a well-known surgeon and asked him to make her calves thinner. This operation did not work; one of her legs was amputated, and she sued her doctor. The judge in the trial ruled for the designer, stating that a surgeon could not perform a dangerous operation on a healthy body in the name of beauty. This trial serves as an excellent site for examining the cultural shaping of the female body through fashion and plastic surgery during France in the 1920s. Changes in French fashion and cultural ideals of beauty, as well as the increased influence of the mass media, provide the necessary context to understand the designer's desire to transform her body through cosmetic surgery. This case hastened the professionalization of the young field of cosmetic surgery as surgeons fought to establish the value of this medical practice. Their primary defense of the field of cosmetic surgery was that it provided a necessary service because of the social importance of beauty in the brutal struggle for existence, particularly for women. The cosmetic surgeons prevailed in the appeal two years later and were able, as one commentator noted, to continue their "glorious march against sickness and ugliness."