Development of thoracic surgery in Iran.

Introduction istorically, Hippocrates (460 – 377 B.C.) was the first physician who described the evacuation of pus from pleural space. Then, Galen (129 – 199 A.D.) wrote on the same procedure. 2 In Iran, some renowned physicians such as Ahwazi or Haly Abbas (10 century A.D.), Razi or Rhazes (865 – 925 A.D.), and Ibn-Sina or Avicenna (980 – 1037 A.D.) had also mentioned the chest diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, and empyema in their medical works. Rhazes had described precisely a method for removing the fluid from the pleural space. – 5 During the middle decades of the 20 century, thoracic surgery was separated and developed in Iran as a branch of general surgery. Today, thoracic operations in Iran are performed by surgeons who are trained in chest surgery and the quality of care is comparable to worldwide practice. Presented here is a brief history of development of thoracic surgery in Iran. The paper has been written based on several interviews with pioneer chest surgeons and some related documents available at the Ministry of Health.