Surgery for Gynecomastia in the Islamic Golden Age: Al-Tasrif of Al-Zahrawi (936–1013 AD)

Abstract

The rise of European science during the Renaissance is greatly indebted to the flourishing of the sciences during the Islamic Golden Age. However, some believe that medieval Islamic physicians and in particular surgeons had been merely a medium for Greco-Roman ideas. Contrarily, in some medieval Islamic medical books, such as Al-Tasrif of Al-Zahrawi (936–1013), the surgical instructions represent a change in the usual techniques or are accompanied by a case history, implying that the procedure was actually undertaken. Along with the hundreds of chapters on different diseases and related medical and surgical treatments, Al-Tasrif includes a chapter on surgical techniques for gynecomastia. The present paper is a review of the description of the surgical management of gynecomastia by Al-Zahrawi as well as that of the ancient Greek, medieval, and modern medicine. Although Al-Zahrawi seemed to base his descriptions of surgery for gynecomastia upon those of Paulus of Aegina, his modification of the procedure and application of the medicinal substances might be indicative of Al-Zahrawi’s own practice of the procedure. Al-Zahrawi’s surgical procedures remained unchanged for many centuries thenceforward until the technological evolution in the recent centuries.