Kazanjian, Varaztad Hovhannes

Varaztad Hovhannes Kazanjian (1879-1974) was an internationally known pioneer in plastic surgery, specializing in the treatment of numerous congenital and acquired facial deformities. His innovative surgical procedures were recorded in more than one hundred and fifty journal articles. With John Marquis Converse, he authored the classic plastic surgery textbook, The Surgical Treatment of Facial Injuries .

Dr. Kazanjian came to the United States in 1895 from Turkish Armenia at the age of sixteen. During most of the next seven years, he worked in a wire mill in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the same time attending Worcester night schools and taking correspondence courses to supplement his early education in missionary schools in Armenia. He became an American citizen in 1900 and that year decided to study dentistry.

Two years later, he was admitted to Harvard Dental School where he first became interested in the treatment of fractured jaws. At that time such cases, as well as many post-operative and congenital deformities, were treated at the Dental School clinic. Upon graduation in 1905, Dr. Kazanjian opened a dental practice and also began his long teaching association with Harvard as an Assistant in Prosthetic Dentistry. In 1912, Dr. Kazanjian became head of that department. His interest in facial injuries increased during his pre-war practice, as he treated hundreds of fractured jaws and developed a specialized knowledge of the construction of unusual appliances.

World War I provided the opportunity for Dr. Kazanjian to use his remarkable ingenuity, talent, and surgical skills. In 1915, he went overseas with the First Harvard Unit to serve with the British Expeditionary Forces. As the unit's Chief Dental Officer, Dr. Kazanjian established the first dental and maxillofacial clinic in France, handling over three thousand cases of gunshot, shrapnel, and other severe wounds of the face and jaws during the war years. In 1919, in recognition of his service, he was invested as a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.

Dr. Kazanjian returned to Harvard Dental School as Professor of Military Oral Surgery in 1919 and at the same time enrolled as a student at Harvard Medical School. He received his M.D. in 1921.

In the years that followed, Dr. Kazanjian maintained an active surgical practice, treating patients from all over the world. He was head of the combined Plastic Surgery Clinic of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Massachusetts General Hospital and also served on the staffs of other major Boston and suburban hospitals, including Mt. Auburn Hospital, New England Deaconess Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital, and Boston City Hospital. He was Professor of Clinical Oral Surgery at Harvard from 1922 to 1941, when he was named Harvard's first Professor of Plastic Surgery.

As a prominent figure in plastic surgery for over sixty years, Dr. Kazanjian was the recipient of many national and international honors. Among them were the Special Honorary Citation of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 1951; an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Bowdoin College in 1952; the Honor Key Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology in 1953; honorary membership in the Chalmers J. Lyons Academy of Oral Surgery at the University of Michigan and the Society Award of the American Society of Oral Surgeons in 1954; the Special Honorary Award of the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons in 1956; the Award of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons in 1959; a New York University Presidential Citation in 1962; and the V.H. Kazanjian Visiting Professorship in Plastic Surgery at New York University Medical Center's Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery in 1962.

Dr. Kazanjian became an Honorary Fellow of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons in 1966 and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1967. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, and the American College of Dentists, and a Diplomat and member of the Founders Group of the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Kazanjian also served as President of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgery, and the New England Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Despite his many accomplishments and numerous honors, Dr. Kazanjian remained a humble man. Dr. John Marquis Converse described his teacher and friend in the third edition of their textbook:

"A man of great determination, though soft spoken with kindly eyes, one felt in his presence a vitality and keenness of perception. Imaginative and resourceful, he taught to improvise new methods rather than follow the conventional. “Do it just right,” he would say, meaning in his laconic way (he preferred action to talk) that each patient's problem required an individual solution. Never did I hear him denigrate a colleague's work. His kindness, warmth, and modesty are legendary."

From the guide to the Papers, 1900-1979, 1984., (Center for the History of Medicine. Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine.)