Sushruta, or Suśruta was an ancient Indian physician and surgeon known today as the “Father of Surgery” and “Father of Plastic Surgery” or “father of brain surgery” for inventing and developing surgical procedures. Sushruta
Indian physician
Sushruta, or Suśruta was an ancient Indian physician and surgeon known today as the “Father of Surgery” and “Father of Plastic Surgery” or “father of brain surgery” for inventing and developing surgical procedures.
Born: 800 BC, Kingdom of Kashi
Died: 700 BC

Sushruta is the father of surgery.Little is known of Sushruta’s life as his work focuses on the application of medical techniques and does not include any details on who he was or where he came from. Even his birth-name is unknown as “Sushruta” is an epithet meaning “renowned”. He is usually dated to the 7th or 6th centuries BCE but could have lived and worked as early as 1000
If the history of science is traced back to its origin, it probably starts from an unmarked era of ancient time.His work on the subject, the Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta’s Compendium) is considered the oldest text in the world on plastic surgery and is highly regarded as one of the Great Trilogy of Ayurvedic Medicine, the Brihat-Trayi; the other two being the Charaka Samhita, which preceded it, and the Astanga Hridaya, which followed it. Although the science of medicine and surgery has advanced by leaps and bounds today, many techniques practised today have still been derived from the practices of the ancient Indian scholars.The Rigveda – the earliest account of ancient Indian civilization – mentions that Ashwini Kumaras known as Dev Vaidya were the chief surgeons of Vedic periods, who had performed rare legendary surgical operations which included the first plastic surgery to rejoin the head and trunk of saint Chyavana when Dakshya cut his head. Their other classic work included an eye operation of Reejashva, the implantation of teeth of Phushna in the toothless mouth, and the transplant of the head of an elephant on Ganesh whose head was cut by Lord Shiva. They transplanted an iron leg on Bispala – the wife of King Khela who lost her leg in war. Ashwini Kumaras had performed both homo- and hetro-transplantation during the very ancient time of Rigveda which is estimated about 5000 years ago; such miraculous magical surgical skill of the Rigvedic period may seem mere legends or mystery to modern medical sciences. The surgical skill has traversed through the ages ranging from the Ashwini Kumaras, Chavana, Dhanvantari through Atereya Agnivesh and Shushruta. Craniotomy and brain surgery were also practised in a more sophisticated way.
Sushruta has described surgery under eight heads: Chedya (excision), Lekhya (scarification), Vedhya (puncturing), Esya (exploration), Ahrya (extraction), Vsraya (evacuation), and Sivya (suturing).
All the basic principles of surgery such as planning precision, hemostasis, and perfection find important places in Sushruta’s writings on the subject. He has described various reconstructive procedures for different types of defects.
His works are compiled as Sushrutaa Samhita. He describes 60 types of upakarma for treatment of wounds, 120 surgical instruments and 300 surgical procedures, and classification of human surgeries in eight categories.
The Suśruta-saṃhitā, in its extant form, in 184 chapters contains descriptions of 1,120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources.
The text discusses surgical techniques of making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid, removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesicolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids, fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines and accidental perforation of the abdomen with protrusion of omentum and the principles of fracture management, viz., traction, manipulation, apposition and stabilisation including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetics. It enumerates six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures, and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries, and gives a classification of eye diseases including cataract surgery.

To Sushruta, health was not only a state of physical well-being but also mental, brought about and preserved by the maintenance of balanced humours, good nutrition, proper elimination of wastes, and a pleasant contented state of body and mind.
For successful surgery, Sushruta induced anaesthesia using intoxicants such as wine and henbane (Cannabis indica).
He treated numerous cases of Nasa Sandhan (rhinoplasty), Oshtha Sandhan (lobuloplasty), Karna Sandhan (otoplasty). Even today, rhinoplasty described by Shushruta in 600 BC is referred to as the Indian flap and he is known as the originator of plastic surgery.
He described six varieties of accidental injuries encompassing all parts of the body. They are described below:
Chinna – Complete severance of a part or whole of a limb
Bhinna – Deep injury to some hollow region by a long piercing object
Viddha Prana – Puncturing a structure without a hollow
Kshata – Uneven injuries with signs of both Chinna and Bhinna, i.e., laceration
Pichchita – Crushed injury due to a fall or blow
Ghrsta – Superficial abrasion of the skin.
Besides trauma involving general surgery, Sushruta gives an in-depth account and a description of the treatment of 12 varieties of fracture and six types of dislocation. This continues to spellbind orthopaedic surgeons even today. He mentions the principles of traction, manipulation, apposition, stabilisation, and postoperative physiotherapy.
He also prescribed measures to induce growth of lost hair and removal of unwanted hair. He implored surgeons to achieve perfect healing which is characterised by the absence of any elevation, induration, swelling mass, and the return of normal colouring.
Plastic surgery and dental surgery were practised in India even in ancient times. Students were properly trained on models. New students were expected to study for at least 6 years before starting their training. Before beginning the training, the students were required to take a solemn oath. He taught his surgical skills to his students on various experimental models. Incision on vegetables such as watermelon and cucumber, probing on worm-eaten woods, preceding present-day workshop by more than 2000 years are some instances of his experimental teachings. He was one of the first people in human history to suggest that a student of surgery should learn about the human body and its organs by dissecting a dead body.
Sushrutaa Samhita remained preserved for many centuries exclusively in the Sanskrit language. In the eight century AD, Sushrutaa Samhita was translated into Arabic as “Kitab Shah Shun al –Hindi” and “Kitab – I – Susurud.” The first European translation of Sushrutaa Samhita was published by Hessler in Latin and in German by Muller in the early 19th century; the complete English literature was done by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna in the three volumes in 1907 at Calcutta.
Sushruta was also known as a medical authority in Tibetan literature.