[The life of Maurice Virenque (1888-1946). From "Gueules Cassées" to cervicofacial facelift].

When going through the biography and bibliography of M. Virenque, one realizes that he was an outstanding maxillo-facial surgeon, who developed his knowledge mainly during the two world wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 and gave exceptional care to soldiers with severe face and skull injuries, the so-called "Gueules Cassées". Nevertheless, he did not disregard the importance of aesthetic surgery born between the two wars. Due to his large experience in maxillo-facial surgery and his broad knowledge of the anatomy of the face, he occupies a special place among the forerunners of facelifts by stressing on the importance of plication of the deep aponeurotic layers of the face, thus allowing the elaboration of a modified approach to the problems of the aging face.