1. Trepanation
One of the oldest known surgical procedures, trepanation involved drilling or scraping a hole into the skull. Ancient cultures believed it released evil spirits that caused headaches, seizures, or mental illness. Archeologists have found skulls with neatly healed holes, suggesting some people survived the ordeal. Still, the idea of having your head bored into without modern anesthesia sounds more like medieval torture than medical treatment.
Interestingly, trepanation wasn’t always done in emergencies. Sometimes it was performed as a preventative measure or even a ritual. The fact that some patients lived afterward is shocking considering the crude tools used, usually sharp stones or bronze blades. Today, we cringe at the thought, but back then it was considered a path to healing and spiritual balance.
2. Bloodletting
For centuries, doctors believed that nearly every illness was caused by having too much blood in the body. Their solution was to drain it out through cuts or by using leeches. Whether you had a fever, infection, or even a sore throat, you could expect to lose a pint or two of blood in the name of balance. Unsurprisingly, this often left patients weaker than before.
Leeches were thought to be a gentler method, sucking blood slowly instead of cutting veins open. Royalty and peasants alike endured bloodletting, and it persisted well into the 19th century. What’s wild is that even George Washington is said to have been treated this way in his final illness. It’s a chilling reminder of how little doctors understood the body back then.
3. Tooth Worm Extraction
Toothaches were once blamed on tiny “tooth worms” believed to burrow inside molars and cause pain. Ancient practitioners tried to lure these imaginary worms out by smoking herbs into the mouth or applying hot needles. The smell of burning tooth was apparently considered proof the worm was leaving.
Of course, there were no worms—just cavities and infections. Still, people suffered through smoking treatments, cauterization, and even chipping away at the tooth to “trap” the worm. Looking back, it’s hard not to wince at how something so routine today could once feel like an endless nightmare.
4. Cauterization with Hot Metal
In many ancient cultures, wounds were sealed by pressing red-hot iron onto the skin. Doctors thought this prevented infection by killing harmful spirits or poisons lurking in the blood. While it did stop bleeding, it left horrific burns and scars. The sheer pain involved was unimaginable.
Sometimes cauterization was used not only for battlefield injuries but also for ulcers and tumors. Imagine being burned alive in a small, concentrated area just to “heal” something. Modern medicine looks at this and shudders, though it was considered one of the most effective methods available at the time.
5. Animal Dung Remedies
Yes, you read that right—animal dung was a common ingredient in ancient remedies. Egyptians mixed crocodile dung into ointments, while Greeks sometimes prescribed cow manure to treat wounds. They believed it drew out infection or evil forces from the body.
Of course, in reality, dung often made things worse by spreading bacteria. But back then, it was applied like medicine and even ingested in some cases. The practice sounds unbearable today, but for ancient healers, it was a natural part of the toolkit.
6. Mummy Powder
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, powdered mummy became a sought-after treatment. People believed the preserved flesh of ancient Egyptians carried magical healing properties. Apothecaries sold it as a cure for headaches, stomach problems, and even internal bleeding.
This meant actual mummies were stolen from tombs, ground into powder, and consumed by the wealthy. It’s as disturbing as it is bizarre. The irony is that most patients were probably just swallowing dust and old linen fibers. It’s a grim example of how fascination with the exotic led people into some very dark practices.
7. Mercury Treatments
Mercury, now known to be highly toxic, was once thought to be a miracle substance. Ancient Chinese and European doctors prescribed it for everything from skin problems to syphilis. Patients would drink it, rub it on their skin, or inhale its vapors.
Instead of healing, mercury slowly poisoned them, causing tremors, insanity, and death. Yet its shiny, liquid form gave it a mystical aura that fooled many for centuries. What feels horrifying now was once hailed as advanced science.
8. Hemiglossectomy for Stuttering
In ancient Rome and later in the Middle Ages, a supposed cure for stuttering was cutting off part of the tongue. Surgeons believed trimming it would loosen speech and stop the stammer. Instead, it left people in agony and often unable to talk at all.
The fact that this was ever attempted shows how desperate societies were to “fix” what they didn’t understand. It’s difficult to imagine the trauma endured by those who went in for help and came out mutilated. Speech therapy feels like a miracle by comparison.
9. Goat’s Blood Transfusions
In the 17th century, doctors experimented with blood transfusions using animals. Patients were hooked up to goats, sheep, or even calves to receive fresh blood. The idea was that the animal’s vitality would transfer into the sick human.
Instead, most recipients died of shock or organ failure. It was a gruesome and deadly gamble. This strange chapter in medicine eventually led to safer human-to-human transfusions, but the road there was littered with tragedy.
10. Hemigastrectomy for Ulcers
Stomach ulcers baffled doctors for centuries, and one extreme treatment was removing large portions of the stomach. Patients went under crude surgery with no modern pain relief, and many didn’t survive the operation. Those who did often faced lifelong complications.
The thinking was that cutting out the diseased tissue would cure the pain. In reality, it caused more suffering than relief. Thankfully, today’s antacids and antibiotics feel like miracles compared to such brutal methods.
11. Hot Cupping
While modern cupping is mostly associated with alternative therapy, its ancient roots were far harsher. Practitioners heated glass or metal cups with fire and then placed them on the skin to “draw out bad humors.” The suction often caused blistering burns and scars.
Patients endured it for ailments ranging from back pain to lung issues. While some reported relief, it was probably more from the distraction of intense pain than actual healing. Today’s sanitized version looks tame compared to the original fiery ordeal.
12. Lithotomy for Kidney Stones
Kidney stones were once removed with a surgical method that sounds closer to torture. Lithotomy involved cutting into the bladder or lower abdomen with sharp tools, often without anesthesia. The risks of infection, bleeding, or death were enormous.
Despite the dangers, some patients actually survived and were considered “cured.” The pain, however, must have been excruciating. Compared to the relatively minor procedures we have today, this ancient approach seems almost unthinkable.
13. Eye Surgery with Hooks
Cataracts plagued people long before modern ophthalmology, and early doctors tried to fix them with sharp needles or hooks. They would push the cloudy lens out of the line of vision, leaving it floating inside the eye. The goal was clearer sight, but the risks were high.
Blindness, infection, and unbearable pain often followed. Yet for some, it was worth the risk of seeing even partially again. It’s a chilling reminder of how far medical science has come in eye care.
14. Nose Reconstruction with Skin Flaps
In ancient India, surgeons developed an early form of plastic surgery for people who lost their noses, often as punishment for crimes. They cut skin flaps from the cheek or forehead and stitched them into place to rebuild the nose. The procedure was done with crude tools and no pain relief.
While it seems gruesome, it was also remarkably advanced for its time. Some reconstructions were surprisingly successful, though the process was agonizing. Today’s rhinoplasty owes a strange debt to this early, torturous practice.