An old friendship revisited: plastic surgery and transplantation.

Plastic surgery has a rich history in the development of the field of transplantation. Many prominent plastic surgeons, while undertaking experimental as well as clinical efforts, pioneered and assisted in the establishment of journals and societies devoted exclusively to the field of transplantation. Much of this work was initiated during World War II, a time when transplantation was viewed with suspicion by both scientists and clinicians. While work in this area has undergone a quiescence among members of our specialty, advances in microsurgery and immunology have rekindled interest among plastic surgeons.