Neurosurgery. 2000 Oct; 47(4): 940-50.

Preconquest Peruvian neurosurgeons: a study of Inca and pre-Columbian trephination and the art of medicine in ancient Peru.

Marino R, Gonzales-Portillo M.

Department of Neurosurgery, University of SÃ£o Paulo Medical School, Brazil. [email protected]

Trephination and craniotomy performed by abrasion, scraping, crosscut sawing, and drilling are the oldest known surgical techniques used by primitive peoples. As a result of archaeological findings, the human skull is the most frequently studied part of the excavated body, leading to the creation of a new aspect of anthropology known as "cultural osteology." Found in ancient tombs, the human remains, mummies, skeletons, and their belongings, including war instruments, pottery, clothing, jewels, and surgical instruments, constitute the richest source of insight into the lives and pragmatic activities of ancient cultures. This study summarizes thousands of years of pre-Columbian history and medical evolution, specifically in the early and primitive practice of trephination, as precursors of neurosurgery. Comparative osteology studies have demonstrated that using primitive stone or metal instruments, the sirkaks (Inca surgeons) achieved an average survival rate of 50 to 70% of their craniectomy patients, with little incidence of infection or other complications. Despite their rudimentary knowledge of disease and pathology, a considerable knowledge of anatomy and natural medicine provided them with hemostatic agents, antiseptics, and other medical drugs, such as quinine for fever and malaria, as well as gold, silver, and other products to perform cranioplasties. Living in a world of continuous hand-to-hand combat, they also developed aggressive and defensive weapons that necessitated refinement of surgical techniques to save soldiers from battle wounds to their poorly protected crania.