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Background Information
Trepanation is the act of drill, cutting, or scraping a hole in the head. The Incan civilization was involved in several wars, with many injuries from combat as a result. Many of the injuries were blunt forces to the head, with lethal consequences if not treated. It began as a way to cure those who were injured in battle, but it was eventually used as a cure for other miscellaneous head injuries.
The Process
Surgeons would sedate the patient with natural sedatives to keep the patient comfort during the procedure. They would then drill or cut a hole in the scalp tissue and expose the skull to clean up skull fractures that may have sustained a blow to the head.
Process Image: A patient receiving surgery.
Impacts
The Incas
The Incas
The Incas were in several wars, so having surgery that's able to heal patients with barely any problems came quite in handy for soldiers needing care after injuries.
Image 4: Map of the Incan Empire
Modern Society
Modern Society
Trepanation established the idea of early craniotomy to the world after its discovery in the 20th century.
Image 5: A needle symbolizing modern trepanation / cranial surgery.
Additional Information
Tools
Tools
Image 1: This image is a showcase of a toolkit with various needles used for surgery
When starting these procedures, they used tools made from obsidian, and flint to make incisions. When they learned how to make metal, they made a curved metal knife called a tumi. They also used scrapers, which were used to remove the bone, and create a hole. The last tool was a hand drill which was used to make a hole.
Sedatives
Sedatives
Image 2: This picture is an example of a natural sedative as an anethetic for trepanation.
Usually, the patients have to be sedated before the surgeries so they mainly used remedies and other ways of knocking the patient out. They used natural recipes containing certain types of alcohol made from corn. They also used different types of plants like coca leaves, and datura that were used as sedatives.
Success Rates
Success Rates
Image 3: This pie chart shows the average success rates for ancient Incan surgery.
The Incas had an incredible success rate for the surgeries. They had an 80% success rate during the period. Comparing this to surgeries during the Civil War with only a 50% survival with the same surgeries showed that Incan trepanation was highly advanced during the time.
Helpful Links
Image 6: A painting of someone preforming Trepanation.
Image 6: A painting of someone preforming Trepanation.
This article goes in-depth about everything you need to know about Trepanation, including the survival rates compared to those in the American Civil War.
This article speaks extensively on the medical practices of the Inca empire from the medications they used to how their surgery was done.
Image 8: A patient of trepanation who died 2 weeks after.
This article compares the success rates of the cranial surgeries during the Incan Empire, and those during the American Civil War.
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