The Surgical Precision Paradox
We live in a world where healthcare is reaching new heights with technological and medical advancements, where many common illnesses and conditions can be treated. Without the healthcare we have now, it would be assumed that the survival rate would be relatively low. So how did ancient cultures achieve a high rate of survival using tools and techniques we assume were too primitive for such success? The surgical paradox presents the puzzle of how our ancestors were able to complete sophisticated skull surgeries, early plastic surgery techniques , and high levels of wound healing with statistics of 70-90% survival rates in trepanning surgeries . Archaeological evidence contradicts our assumption for example Neolithic skills showing bone regrowth after trepanning, with further evidence to show that patients survived for a long time after these procedures. Egyptian prosthetics and dental surgery being very common in society. Early Indian surgical texts describing hundreds of diffe...