Who was Abu al Qasim al Zahrawi?

Abu al Qasim al Zahrawi was a man ahead of his time. Known as the father of operative surgery, he invented over 200 surgical tools in the 11th Century, which saved millions of lives. One of Al Zahrawi's highly acclaimed books is ‘Al Tasrif’, the first illustrated encyclopedia of surgical tools, which was used as a manual in European universities for over 500 years, influencing modern scientific perspectives on operative surgery and contributing to Europe's Renaissance.

Zahrawi's skills and knowledge of surgery earned him the title of the greatest medieval surgeon of the Islamic world and the Middle Ages. He pioneered the use of catgut for internal stitches and his surgical instruments are still used today.

He developed surgical tools for C-sections and cataract surgeries and was also the first to discover the root cause of paralysis. He explained how it comes from fracturing the spine. He's also was known for using a unique combination of chemicals for sterilisation of surgical tools, which had a similar impact to anti‐bacterial properties in our age.

He made significant contributions to pediatric surgery as well. He also described the tracheotomy operation and performed it as an emergency on one of his servants. He was the first to detail the classic operation for breast cancer, lithotripsy for bladder stones, techniques for removing thyroid cysts.

After a long and distinguished medical career, he died in 1013 AD at the age of 77.