Miracle Man of the Western Front
Dr. Varaztad H. Kazanjian, Pioneer Plastic Surgeon

This groundbreaking biography by Dr. Deranian traces a young man fleeing Ottoman Armenia to escape the Armenian genocide in 1895. From a start as a wire drawer in the mills of Worcester Massachusetts, Varaztad Kazanjian prepared himself for Harvard Dental School. At Harvard he volunteered for the British Army Medical Corps and was stationed on the Western Front. At that time many of the soldiers in the trenches had been suffering painful, disfuguring facial injuries - these soldiers, if they survived, were destined to a difficult life, at best. Dr. Kazanjian, the American volunteer dentist, quickly became known for his skill in treating the highly destructive and disfiguring facial injuries suffered by large numbers of British soldiers. Working under primitive conditions in makeshift hospitals near the battlefields of France Varaztad H. Kazanjian exhibited humane concern combined with innovative medical procedures that established his reputation amd marked his subsequent career as a founder of the modern practice of plastic surgery.