#sushrut

Surgical instrument in Ayurved

Calculus stone extractor, India, Science museum London This is an Indian example of a calculus stone extractor. It was used in a painful operation to remove the growths. The oldest reference to the surgical removal of calculus stones is in the Susrata Samhita सुश्रुत संहिता classic text of Ayurvedic medicine. Susrata practiced surgery since about 500BCE. Science Museum, London Surgical…

Ancient Indian inventions that will surprise you

Ancient Indians have contributed to shaping the world in ways you probably couldn’t imagine. From surgeries to the conceptualization of intellectual theories, there are many extraordinary ancient Indian inventions. In this article I would like to touch upon the Plastic Surgery: Facial Reconstruction - one of the Indian inventions.  

The government has notified compulsory surgical procedures for PG students of Ayurveda has recently fetched debate in medical circle. A few oppose this decision that permitting Ayurveda doctors to conduct surgery a compromise with health.

The theory of reconstructive surgery is recorded in Indian sources as old as 4000 years ago. Vedic records of the time retell the story of Shiva, a Supreme Hindu deity, replacing the head of his dead human son, Ganesh, with the face of an elephant baby. According to these sources, the knowledge of Ayurveda (the science of life) was passed down from Brahma, another Supreme Hindu deity, to Sushruta, the son of King of Banaras.

Illustration of an 18th century nose reconstruction method from Poona performed by an Indian potter, Gentleman’s Magazine 1794

Sushruta is considered the "Father of Plastic Surgery." He lived in India sometime between 1000 and 800 BC, and is responsible for the advancement of medicine in ancient India. His teaching of anatomy, pathophysiology, and therapeutic strategies were of unparalleled luminosity, especially considering his time in the historical record. He is notably famous for nasal reconstruction, which can be traced throughout the literature from his depiction within the Vedic period of Hindu medicine to the era of Tagliacozzi during Renaissance Italy to modern-day surgical practices.

Some facts on plastic surgery:

Reconstructive surgeries were being carried out in India by 800 BC. Sushruta was a physician that made important contributions to the field of plastic surgery in the 6th century

By 750 AD, the medical works of both Sushruta and Charak originally in Sanskrit were being translated into the Arabic language and sent to Europe.

Joseph Carpue, a surgeon in England, introduced the cosmetic surgery to western medicine as he reconstructed the nose of a young soldier. When he learnt about procedures developed in India to rebuild mutilated noses, he travelled to India  and spent 20 years in India studying local plastic surgery methods

Carpue was able to perform the first major surgery in the Western world by 1815

Plastic surgeries involved a great pain until the techniques of anaesthesia were established

The invention and use of antibiotics such as penicillin, was another step in making elective surgery possible

The first American plastic surgeon was John Peter Mettauer, who, in 1827, performed the first cleft palate operation with instruments that he designed himself

The father of modern plastic surgery is generally considered to have been Sir Harold Gillies who developed many of the techniques of modern facial surgery

Walter Yeo, a British sailor during World War I, is often cited as the first known person to have benefited from plastic surgery

The world's first partial face transplant on a living human was carried out on November 27, 2005 by Bernard Devauchelle, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and Jean-Michel Dubernard in France. Isabelle Dinoire became the first person to receive the transplant

In ancient Rome, plastic surgery started as a means to remove scars. People in Rome were afraid of scars on their back as it was considered shameful and depicted that a man had turned his back during the war.

“In a time that we are a little bit confused as human beings about our relationship to the planet, relationship to the past, our relationship to the future...Fogo Island is a great place to experience that on a smaller scale, it's more approachable.” 

- Zita Cobb, founder of the Fogo Island Inn.

The 1967 French-Italian comedy by Jacques Tati imagines a futuristic Paris in which the protagonist, Monsieur Hulot, bumps (quite literally and figuratively) against the orderly, sterile, and technologically advanced built environment of the city, illustrating the shortcomings of such spaces in fulfilling the needs for more organic human engagement.