DEVELOPMENT OF RECONSTRUCTIVE BLEPHAROPLASTY - THE TEMPOROFACIAL ROTATION FLAP - WAS IT 1ST CONCEIVED ON THE SPREE, ON THE SEINE, OR ON THEMANZANARES

The development of reconstructive blepharoplasty in the 19th century i s analyzed and the techniques classified according to their principles . Besides the main contributions of French, German, and Italian plasti c surgeons, those made by two Spanish surgeons are summarized. Argumos a, who published an article on the tempororotation flap two years befo re Dieffenbach, and Hysern, who developed the first musculocutaneous t ransposition flaps for eyelid reconstruction, are usually omitted in t he literature. After Dieffenbach's publication, German and French surg eons argued about who contributed to the development of plastic surger y in general and to blepharoplasty in particular, while in Spain contr oversies arose about the importance of Hysern's and Argumosa's contrib utions. The background and causes of these disputes are analyzed and c ompared with the present day dissemination and publication of new tech niques.