Surgery is a medical process which follows some guidelines mentioned in special books called the manuals. Special instruments are also an integral part of the process. It is done to understand and treat the causes and factors behind a patient’s ailment. Couple of interesting similarities emerge when one tries to research about ancient and modern day surgery techniques.
According to Ayurveda, surgery called Shalya Tantra comes from the Dhanwantry school of medicine. 3500 years ago, scholars from the land of India mentioned in details the surgical procedures to follow while operating on several organs of the body. One such treatise is Sushurut Samrita. It was written by the father of surgery and the world’s first surgeon Sushurut. He is also considered father of plastic and cosmetic surgery. His contributions to surgery include 120 surgical instruments, 300 surgical procedures and classification of human surgery in to 8 categories.
Features of Shalya Tantra:
- Sushurut Samrita stresses on detailed knowledge about the anatomy of the body before performing surgery.
- Knowledge of muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments are considered rudiments of surgery.
- The treatise explains in details surgical procedures to follow for disorders like tumors, hemorrhages, fractures, injuries and deliveries.
- It is very surprising to know that cosmetic surgery was advanced even in that era.
- Modern day eye surgeons draw several parallels between the present day techniques and Trichiasis. It is the name given to surgery related to eye disorders in Ayurveda.
- Surgical instruments used were made up of stones, wood, metals and animal bones. They were sterilized in hot water prior to and after the surgery.
- Use of special medicated thread called Kshar sutra during Shalya Tantra protected the operated regions from infections and aided in fast recovery.
