Long before the advent of all the modern day life-saving surgical procedures and treatments, there was a doctor by the name of Sushruta who was making a start on them. Living in ancient India around 700 BC, he practiced medicine near the modern day city of Varanasi, which sits on the river Ganges. As a highly skilled physician and surgeon, he developed a number of surgical techniques to relieve the suffering he saw around him. His work is unparalleled for the time, recorded in his book Sushruta Samhita (Samhita meaning “compendium” in Sanskrit, it is also considered a cornerstone of Ayurvedic Medicine). The book detailed hundreds of illnesses and treatments, with some of the following surgeries:

– Complicated incision and excision techniques

– The use of sutures to control hemorrhage

– Draining of abscesses

– Intra-abdominal intestinal surgery

– Treatment of traumatic injuries and fractures

– Opthalmological procedures including…