Sushruta is considered the “Father of Plastic Surgery.” He lived in India sometime between 1000 and 800 BC, and is responsible for the advancement of medicine in ancient India. His teaching of anatomy, pathophysiology, and therapeutic strategies were of unparalleled luminosity, especially considering his time in the historical record. He is notably famous for nasal reconstruction, which can be traced throughout the literature from his depiction within the Vedic period of Hindu medicine to the era of Tagliacozzi during Renaissance Italy to modern-day surgical practices. The primary focus of this historical review is centered on Sushruta’s anatomical and surgical knowledge and his creation of the cheek flap for nasal reconstruction and its transition to the “Indian method.” The influential nature of the Sushruta Samhita, the compendium documenting Sushruta’s theories about medicine, is supported not only by anatomical knowledge and surgical procedural descriptions contained within its pages, but by the creative approaches that still hold true today.
Sushruta Samhita remained preserved for many centuries exclusively in the Sanskrit language. In the eighth century AD, Sushruta Samhita was translated into Arabic as ‘Kitab Shah Shun al -Hindi’ and ‘Kitab-I-Susurud.’
The first European translation of Sushruta 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 in Calcutta.
Sushruta took surgery in medieval India to admirable heights and that era was later regarded as the ‘Golden Age of Surgery’ in ancient India. The genius of Sushruta prompted eminent surgeon Allen Whipple to declare, “All in all, Sushruta must be considered the greatest surgeon of the pre-medieval period.”
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