Surgery comes from the Greek word cheirourgia, meaning ‘hand work’. Surgery is the medical specialty that treats diseases or injuries by operative, manual and instrumental treatment. Surgeons were different from the Physician, and historically have been accorded lesser status, they being treated mainly as craftsmen. In fact, till the Napoleonic wars, naval surgeons were mainly barbers who also acted as surgeons doing mainly amputations.
Surgery as such is very old. Trepanations (boring a hole in the skull) have been performed as long back as 7300 BC. Ancient Egypt was one civilization that had developed a high level of surgical proficiency. The ‘Father of Surgery’ appellation is usually given to Susrutha (400 BC), a Hindu surgeon living on the banks of Ganges, who collected his knowledgeable writings under the title ‘Susrutha Samhita’. Since the early 19th Century, surgery has been accorded a higher status. The developments and discoveries in micro-biology in the 19th century, the study of pathogens, the development of anesthesia, the concept of blood/organ matching, and post-operative care, along with, of course, a better standard of hygiene have improved the field of surgery tremendously. The findings of Louis Pasteur and the pioneering works surgeons like Joseph Lister have done great in elevating the field of surgery.
Today, surgical procedures like episiotomy, liposuction, cesarean section, cardio-bypass, amputation, basic plastic surgery are common. Even complex surgeries, involving specialist surgeons from multiple areas, and taking hours, are fairly common nowadays. Surgery has added a new dimension to healthier and more respectable living, while at the same time becoming a life saving option for millions.

This section of Webdirectory links to descriptions of all surgical procedures, surgeons, specialty hospitals and everything regarding surgeries.

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