At the time of Atreya and Dhanwantri (seventh century BC), surgery was considered one of the best methods of treatment for arbuda. They found that herbal medicine treatments against cancer, either in the form of granthi or arbuda, were beneficial only in the beginning stage. Nonetheless, they recorded a group of successful treat- ments for use against gulmas (cystic tumors) and neoplasms of individual organs. 6,7,9–11 Surgical treatment included external and internal cleansing, surgical opening and drainage of the tumor, surgical excision of the tumor, cauterization with alkalis and acids to prevent recurrences, and postoperative care for healing of the wounds. Six types of surgical operations were described: incision, puncturing, excision, scraping, scarification, and suturing
