ABSTRACT
India’s surgical heritage is inextricably linked to Susruta who lived in Varanasi. Though Susruta’s period is controversial, there is enough reason to believe that he lived prior to the Buddha and blazed a trail in surgery, which had few equals in the ancient world. Basic surgical procedures stand in relation to surgical operations as words to sentences. Susruta’s instruments constitute a jewel in the crown of India’s surgical history. It is obvious that surgical instruments, as refined and as diverse as in Susruta’s armamentarium, could not be developed except as a collaborative effort of innovative surgeons, competent metal craftsmen, and the resources of ferrous metallurgy. Surgeons responsible for such errors and the careless use of instruments, caustics, and cautery should be shunned by the public “like snakes.” Bloodletting was used extensively in Ayurveda for treating a variety of ailments such as skin disorders, glandular swellings, and diseases of blood.
