Father of surgery

Statue of Sushruta. RACS, Melbourne[1]

Sushruta (Sanskrit: सुश्रुत, lit. "well heard") was an ancient Indian ayurvedic physician, known as the main author of The Sushruta Samhita (ca. 600 BCE), an important early medical text and the first text to represent the process of rhinoplasty. One of the earliest documented plastic surgeons, he also described procedures for treating hemorrhoids and fistulae, as well as cataract surgery.[2] Sushruta is described as the "father of plastic surgery", and the "father of surgery".[3]

The Arab physician Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (936-1013) wrote Al-Tasrif (The Method of Medicine), a 30-part medical encyclopedia in Arabic. In the encyclopedia, he introduced his collection of over 200 surgical instruments, many of which were never used before.[4] Some of his works included being the first to describe and prove the hereditary pattern behind hemophilia, as well as describing ectopic pregnancy and stone babies.[5] He has been called the "father of surgery".[6][7]

The 14th century French surgeon Guy de Chauliac quoted Al-Tasrif over 200 times. Abu Al-Qasim's influence continued for at least five centuries after his death, extending into the Renaissance, evidenced by al-Tasrif's frequent reference by French surgeon Jacques Daléchamps (1513-1588).[7]

The Frenchman Guy de Chauliac (c. 1300-1368) is said by the Encyclopædia Britannica to have been the most eminent surgeon of the European Middle Ages. He wrote the surgical work Chirurgia magna, which was used as a standard text for some centuries.[8] He has been called the "father of modern surgery".[9]

The French surgeon Ambroise Paré (1517–1590) worked as a military doctor. He reformed the treatment of gunshot wounds, rejecting the practice, common at that time, of cauterizing the wound, and ligatured blood vessels in amputated limbs. His collected works were published in 1575. He has been called the "father of modern surgery".[10][11][12]

Hieronymus Fabricius, Operationes chirurgicae, 1685

The Italian anatomist and surgeon Hieronymus Fabricius (1537–1619) taught William Harvey, and published a work on the valves of the veins. He has been called the "father of ancient surgery".[13][14]

The Scotsman John Hunter (1728–1793) was known for his scientific, experimental approach to medicine and surgery.[15] He has been called the "father of modern surgery".[16][17]

The American surgeon Philip Syng Physick (1768–1837) worked in Philadelphia and invented a number of new surgical methods and instruments.[18] He has been called the "father of modern surgery".[19][20]

The Englishman Joseph Lister (1827–1912) became well known for his advocacy of the use of carbolic acid (phenol) as an antiseptic, and was dubbed the "father of modern surgery" as a result.[21][22]

The German Theodor Billroth (1829–1894) was an early user of antisepsis, and was the first to perform a resection of the esophagus, and various other operations. He has been called the "father of modern surgery".[23][24]

The American William Stewart Halsted (1852–1922) pioneered the radical mastectomy, and designed a residency training program for American surgeons.[25][26] He has been called "the most innovative and influential surgeon the United States has produced", and also the "father of modern surgery".[27][28]

The Scottish James Henderson Nicoll (1863–1921) pioneered a surgical cure for Pyloric stenosis and outpatient care of children with Spina bifida,[29] and was known as the Father of Day Surgery.[30]

• 
  Statue of Suśruta in Haridwar
• 
  Al-Zahrawi
• 
  Guy de Chauliac
• 
  Ambroise Paré
• 
  Hieronymus Fabricius
• 
  John Hunter
• 
  Philip Syng Physick
• 
  Joseph Lister
• 
  Theodor Billroth
• 
  William Stewart Halsted

• List of people considered father or mother of a scientific field