No collection of contributions to modern plastic surgery by individual surgeons would be complete without the name of Johann Dieffenbach who is considered by many to be the earliest true founder of the specialty. He was in essence a general surgeon who indeed devised and used procedures which today would fall within the ambit of plastic surgery. His publications reveal that besides plastic surgery he had various other medical interests. Nevertheless, no one could hold a candle to his reconstructive contributions in the first half of the nineteenth century. However, one must not forget there were others before and after this period such as von Graefe, Langenbeck, Thiersch, Esser and Gillies who played an important role in the birth of the specialty.