The great translation movement—plastic surgery in the Middle Ages

Plastic surgery knowledge in the Middle Ages is known to have progressed via the Sushruta Samhita and Pragmateia of Paul of Aegina. Both texts influenced numerous medical authors of the Middle Ages, particularly those from the Islamic Golden Age. Little is known of how this information was transferred to these great writers. This article examines how the Sushruta Samhita and the Pragmateia crossed international borders and contributed to the practice of plastic surgery in the early Middle Ages. A comprehensive review of medical, medical humanities and history databases (PubMed; MEDLINE; Web of Knowledge; Anthropology; JSTOR, Encyclopedia of ancient history), non-digital printed texts and digitised manuscripts (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana and BnF Gallica) was conducted using multiple search terms and filters including Middle Ages Surgery; Paul of Aegina; Sushruta; Branca Family; Reconstruction; Plastic Surgery; Islamic Medicine; Nasal reconstruction and Rhinoplasty. The search was restricted to publications which focused on the period between 476 and 1453 AD. A seventh century translator, Hunain ibn Ishaq; a thirteenth century manuscript Par. gr. 2293; the Arab conquest of Sicily; and an eleventh century translator, Constantine the African were identified. From Sushruta and Paul, our speciality proliferated in the Middle Ages due to the Great Translation Movement and the prosperity of the Islamic Golden Age. It influenced several medical authors like Albucasis, resulting in Paul and Sushruta’s techniques crossing international borders.

Level of evidence: Not ratable.