In some cases, fluid can build up behind the eardrum, which, if left untreated, can cause a visible lump on the skull, hearing loss, and even life-threatening inflammation of the outer lining of the brain. Although the treatment of this condition is a fairly common procedure today, prior to the mid-19th century ear surgery was only a desperate attempt at vital situations.
Although some writings of authors from ancient times point to surgical interventions dating back to the first century AD, as you can imagine, it can be quite difficult to find solid evidence of this period due to the passage of time. But an ancient skull discovered at a 6,000-year-old megalithic monument in Spain provides evidence that similar procedures may have been done thousands of years ago.
Findings indicate that the patient recovered successfully
According to research published in Scientific Reports, the skull in question is El Pendónis, which contains bones dating from the fourth millennium BC. It was found in a burial site called the Dolmens of .
Doesn’t give much details about its owner because there are no other parts of the body it belongs to; However, examining the skull, which was determined to belong to a woman aged 35 to 50, presumably suffering from a bilateral acute middle ear infection, based on the lack of teeth and fusion of the skull bones, the researchers found evidence that the woman had undergone a very primitive ear surgery while she was alive.
Stating that for such a painful procedure to be performed without anesthesia, the ear infections of the woman must be in a very bad condition, the researchers said that the woman should be forcibly restrained to puncture the skull behind the ear or the reality would be more difficult. He noted that he should have been given a substance that may have caused him to be less conscious.
However, it seems that no matter how it was done, the operation was successful and the woman survived. Signs of deterioration in the bones near both ears confirm that at some point an infection has occurred; however, there is no evidence to suggest that the woman had any signs of infection at the time of her death. Moreover, evidence of bone regeneration and remodeling in the skull indicates that the woman may have recovered successfully.
The first known ear surgery in human history
Despite the possibility that both ears were operated on, only the left side of the skull was cut in a kind of ‘V’ shaped knife marks exists. The absence of these marks on the right side of the skull indicates that these wounds may have already healed when the woman died. This means that the poor woman had two very painful ear operations in her lifetime.
The study authors stated, “Based on the remodeling differences between the two temporal bones, it appears that the procedure in which this prehistoric woman survived was first performed in the right ear because of an ear pathology that was so alarming that it required intervention.” saves as.
After this procedure, the left ear should have been intervened later; however, the researchers stated that it is not possible to determine whether it is a few months or a few years between the two interventions; states that this procedure is the first known radical mastoidectomy in human history.
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