2024-01-13 07:00:00
NARRATIVE – The Frenchwoman Suzanne Noël became a pioneer of cosmetic surgery by operating on the international star. The feminist surgeon insisted on the “social role” of her art, capable according to her of giving women their independence.
It’s the story of a medical student who practices in the shadow of her husband, but dares to approach a huge star who has returned from a triumphant tour in America. When Suzanne became interested in Sarah Bernhardt in 1912, the latter had benefited from a forehead lift in Chicago, a technique in its infancy. Newspapers celebrate a dazzling « rejuvenation »but the young surgeon thinks she can do better: her American colleague only did half the work, and the actress’s lower face remains marked by her 68 years.
The story of the actress’s rejuvenation « hit me a lot, and on my own face, I tried, with my fingers, to pinch the skin in various places and in different directions, to rectify the folds », recounts Dr Suzanne Noël in a book published in 1926. Before the First World War, plastic surgery « is reduced to a few attempts to reduce the size of the nose (rhinoplasty) and reattach the ears (otoplasty)…
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