Surgery is a field which has been constantly evolving. New innovations and discoveries are being made at a rapid pace and what is cutting edge today may no longer be valid tomorrow. Several scientists, surgeons and physicians over the years have contributed to this change and what we see today is the hard work and toil of many generations.
This is a small effort on our part to bring into focus the life of some of the famous surgeons who have contributed immensely to this field.
Most important surgical innovations have come after the later part of 18th century and surgery as a subject was never a big success. It was only after years of hard work and successful results that it was chosen as carrier.
Sushruta
Sushruta was the first surgeon in the world who lived in ancient India and is the author of the book Sushruta Samhita.
Sushruta is the father of Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery. His technique of forehead flap rhinoplasty ; that he used to reconstruct noses that were amputated, is practiced almost unchanged in technique to this day.
His contributions to the field of plastic surgery are numerous.
His book describes the various surgical techniques and instruments in detail. The Susrutha Samhita contains the first known description of several operations, including the anastomoses of bowel, the removal of the prostate gland, the removal of cataract lenses and the draining of abscesses.
In 1670, when war broke out between the Mughals and the Aadilshah of Bijapur, some Mughal soldiers captured the villagers and as a punishment, their noses were cut off.
However, after some days all of them received new noses. How ? Describing the treatment of the native surgeons, Niccolao Manucci, the Italian traveller who was in India in those days, says :
"The surgeons belonging to the country cut the skin of the forehead above the eyebrows, and made it fall down over the wounds on the nose. Then, giving a twist so that a live flesh might meet the other live surface, by healing applications, they fashioned for them other imperfect noses. There is left above, between the eyebrows, a small hole, caused by the twist given to the skin to bring the two live surfaces together.
In a short time the wounds heal up, some obstacle being placed beneath to allow of respiration. I saw many persons with such noses, and they were not so disfigured as they would have been without any nose at all." (Storia do Mogor or Mogul India, 1653-1708 AD)
Joseph Lister (1827-1912)
He described the use of phenol in the washing of hands and also the use of sterile absorbable sutures (catgut) to reduce wound infection.
Despite initial resistance, his methods were rapidly adopted throughout Europe particularly by the military in the Franco-Prussian war. The impact of his discovery was so much so that by 1878 ,in Germany, Robert Koch was using steam for sterilising surgical instruments and dressings.
In Lister's time 50% of patients undergoing surgery died mainly because of sepsis. The germ theory had not arisen and there was nothing called bacteria or viruses. The surgeons did not care to wash hand in between surgeries and blood stained clothing was considered as a matter of achievement. Lister was the 1st one to challenge these views and introduced antisepsis based on his theories
Friedrich Trendelenburg (1844-1924)
Trendelenberg was a great practical surgeon born in Germany. He studied in Germany And Edinburgh. He was also keenly interested in the history of surgery. His doctoral thesis De Veterum Indorum Chirurgiais discussed ancient Indian surgery.
He worked on the removal of pulmonary emboli and the positions he used later gave his name to the famous Trendlenberg position.
The closing years of his life were spent in Nikolassea, Germany. He died from carcinoma of the lower jaw at the age of 81 years.
He is also credited for being the 1st one to propose the therapy for Pulmonary r
William Halstead (1794-1878)
