Surgery: The Past, The Present and The Future

The recent unveiling of a bronze statue of Maharishi Sushrutha at Edinburgh, in Scotland, on 12th June 2026, brought a great sense of pride to all Indians.Sushrutha, [1] considered as the "Father of surgery" Or "Father of Plastic Surgery", was a great surgeon who practised surgery with deep knowledge of Anaesthesia, asepsis, and Anatomy, in 600 B.C.E, much before the Western world gave importance to this skill.He pioneered more than 300 surgical procedures and designed his own instruments.When surgical procedures had not been developed yet, he showed the world what reconstructive surgery was!He was a great teacher and imparted wisdom and the code of medical ethics to his students.Sushruta also emphasised the importance of using sterile, high-quality tools when performing surgical procedures.His descriptions of 1120 specific disease entities showcase his deep understanding of various medical conditions.He was the first to attribute mala ria to mosquitoes and link the spread of plague to rats.His monumental thesis, the Samhita [1][2][3] , stands as the oldest known surgical text, providing a comprehensive exploration of medical practices during his time.Over the years, the skill slowly faded in India due to some taboos and loss of literature and a simultaneous shift of credit by the Western Historiography, which favoured the legacy of Hippocrates and Galen, leaving early Indian medical achievements out of mainstream international textbooks.