02/22/2026
No
In 1879, British medical missionary Robert Felkin witnessed a procedure in the Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara that defied contemporary Western medical expectations: a successful cesarean section where both mother and child survived.
While European surgeons at the time struggled with high maternal mortality rates due to infection, Ugandan healers had already mastered sophisticated protocols:
Anesthesia & Antisepsis: Healers used spiked banana wine to intoxicate the mother (anesthesia) and cleanse their hands and the mother's abdomen (antisepsis).
Surgical Precision: They used a single rapid incision and used cautery to manage bleeding.
Post-Op Care: The wound was closed with polished iron needles and dressed with a paste of mashed herbs.
This documented event proved that African medical systems had independently developed advanced surgical techniques, including the concept of sterilization, long before they were standardized in Europe.
