Maharishi Sushruta : Father of Indian Medicine, Father of Plastic Surgery- A Great Rishi and Scholar

Maharishi Shushruta ( Sanskrit: सुश्रुत ) is a legendry scholar of the Indian medical science and founding father of surgery.

2600 Yrs ago Maharishi Shushruta together with his colleagues had conducted the variety of complex surgeries such as caesareans, artificial limbs, cataract, urinary stones, fractures, and most specially the plastic surgery.

Ayurveda has its foundation in a triology of books. one of which is sushruta samhita. other two are charak samhita and astanga hridaya.

Historian believe that he lived in 6th - 7th century BC and Practiced his work on the banks of river ganga in modern day varanasi.

A famous book (Shalya Tantra) has been described by the Shushruta about all the surgical procedures. Shalya Tantra was later named as the Sushruta Samhita (have details about the ancient medical science of India, well known as the Ayurveda).
Maharishi Shushruta is the author of Sushruta Samhita in Sanskrit language and had described all the amazing surgical procedures with the accuracy and curative efficacy. His great findings have become an essential component of the Indian culture.

The sushruta samhita documented the etiology more than 1,100 diseases, the use of hundreds of medical plants and instructions for performing scores of surgical procedures- including three types of skin grafts and reconstruction of nose.

The influential nature of the Sushruta Samhita is supported not only by anatomical knowledge and surgical procedural descriptions contained within its pages but also by the creative approaches that still hold true today.

Origin of Rhinoplasty-

Rhinoplasty, colloquially known as the 'nose job,' is a surgery performed to achieve two results:

1. To improve the breathing function of the nose.
2. To improve the cosmetic look of the nose.

Sushruta's treatise provides the first written record of a forehead flap rhinoplasty, a technique still used today to reconstruct a nose. He used a flap of skin from forehead, called a pedicle, to form a new nose.

He was the pioneer of anesthesia and has promoted the proper use of wine with incense of cannabis for the anesthesia purpose.

Source-
Manish C Champaneria et al. Ann Plast Surg. (Pubmed. gov)

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Sushruta has described over 300 surgical procedures and further classified human surgery into 8 different categories. He has devised 101 blunt and 20 sharp surgical instruments some of them are displayed here. Source: Museum, Man Singh Observatory, Dasashwamedh Ghat, Kashi

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More than 1700 years before Ibn Sina was born, more than 1200 years before the Islamic Prophet was born Sushruta talked about physical Isolation. He wrote contagious diseases spread through physical contact, eating together, sitting together, using same clothes etc

These students were from the school of Sushruta. At age of 8,they were trained in Vedas. After that,they were trained as doctors for 6 yrs. In this picture,they are shown performing mock surgery on water melons and cucumbers. As such, they are earliest recorded surgeons of World