Abstract / Summary
War has been a powerful accelerant of innovation in reconstructive surgery. From the storytelling of Greek heroes of war to modern warfare, each conflict expanded on what was surgically possible. The World Wars introduced pedicled flaps and advancements in burn care and skin grafting. The Korean and Vietnam Wars established arterial and venous repair, halving amputation rates and priming the microsurgical revolution by Jacobson, Suarez, Malt, McKhann, and Buncke. Post-9/11 conflicts drove damage control reconstruction, negative pressure wound therapy, and clinical translation of vascularized composite allotransplantation. The war in Ukraine has catalyzed innovation, including the use of bioengineered vascular conduits, and modern interest in AI-assisted technology highlights the potential for surgical triage in resource-scarce environment. This reflection offers a historically grounded framework for understanding contemporary microsurgery in relation to war and anticipating where the current technological revolution will lead.