Wound healing through the ages

Wound healing through the ages Editorial T he science of wound healing has had an exiting journey over the ages.Since the caveman, man has been tending to his wounds.Wound care evolved from magical incantations, potions, and ointments, to a systematic text of wound care and surgery from Sushruta, Hippocrates and Celsus.Right from the days of Sushruta in Ancient India, due to frequent battles and wars, healing of wounds was a matter of concern for all including ancient Chinese, Korean, Egyptian and African healers.Sushruta Samhita has two separate chapters dealing with healing of these wounds, and describes more than 100 plants for treatment of wounds both singly and in combination.[1] Sushruta has mentioned not only procedures and drugs to obtain a clean wound (Vrana Shodan) followed by healing (Vrana Ropan) but also medicines to help treatment of keloids.[2] Ancient Indian Surgery was a highly skilled branch of Ayurvedic medicine and known as Shalya Tantra.Eight types of surgical procedures described as "Ashtavidha Shastrakarma" were means and methods to treat the surgical diseases at that time.He clarified that blood clots, foreign materials like stones, hair, nails, fragment of fractured bone, etc., should be removed and wound should be thoroughly cleaned before applying sutures.If these materials were not removed, the wound will proceed to Pakavastha i.e., suppuration and will increase pain over affected part.Sushruta also defined the suturing procedure as a process of tying two ends of thread for union of wound edges with the help of needle and appropriate suturing material.Four methods of suturing techniques are described in ancient texts as seevan karma-Riju granthi -straight, interrupted type, Vellitaka -continuous type, Tunnasevani -zigzag type or subcuticular and Gophanika -interlocking or blanket type suturing.