Surgery

[Paul Kiparsky]

Status: RO

I recently came across my great-grandfather's dissertation on plastic
surgery, submitted in 1864 at the University of Dorpat (Tartu).  In it
he mentions that ancient Indian physicians were proficient in several
types of such operations (rhinoplasty etc.), describes some of their
methods (such as reversing a skin flap in grafting), and says that
this branch of surgery had fallen into disuse in the West until it was
revived in the early 19th century by the British, who were inspired by
Indian techniques.  This has made me curious to find out more about
Indian surgery and its influence in the West.  Can someone suggest a
good reference on this topic?