Pictures of first person to undergo plastic surgery released

The images of a wounded First World War soldier who became the first person to undergo plastic surgery have been released in an attempt to trace his family.

The photographs show before, during and after pictures of the ground-breaking medical procedure carried out on sailor Walter Yeo.



Walter sustained terrible facial injuries including the loss of upper and lower eyelids while manning the guns aboard HMS Warspite in 1916.

In 1917 he was treated by Sir Harold Gillies - the first man to use skin grafts from undamaged areas on the body - and know as 'the father of plastic surgery'.



Walter Yeo is thought to be the first patient to benefit from his newly-developed technique - a form of skin grafting called 'tubed pedical'.

The young sailor, of Plymouth, Devon, was given new eyelids with a 'mask' of skin grafted across his face and eyes.



Artist Paddy Hartley, 37, has previously used the images in an exhibition and is now attempting to track down Walter's family to find out what happened to him. Paddy, of London, said: "This tragedy catalysed the surgeon to transform the fledgling discipline of plastic surgery.

"Walter Yeo last went for treatment at the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth 1938, but little else is known about him. It would be interesting to know what happened to him in the years that followed. I'm keen to find out how he and his family coped with the consequences of his injuries and subsequent surgery."