Management of penile tumours during the Byzantine period

While conventional treatment of penile cancer consists of total penile amputation and bilateral lymphadenectomy, recently a more conservative strategy comprising penile-preserving surgery and selective lymphadenectomy has been applied in order to preserve the penis and to minimize unnecessary inguinal lymphadenectomy. A thorough literature survey was performed to see what was already known of the surgical treatment of penile tumours in ancient times. In the Byzantine period, surgery appeared to have been highly developed, as one may conclude from the surgical material included mainly in the works of Oribasius of Pergamus and Paul of Aegina. Being aware of cancer, they described in their medical encyclopaedias malignant and benign tumours of the prepuce and glans penis, as well as their surgical and non-surgical management. After local excision of malignant tumours, they strongly recommended burning to prevent relapse, whereas they discouraged simultaneous removal of external and internal preputial lesions, because of the risk of perforation of the prepuce. These surprisingly detailed descriptions prove that Byzantine surgery had reached a higher level than commonly supposed. Penile-preserving treatment, which has recently become the therapeutic strategy of choice, was already accomplished in ancient times by using adjuvant thermal or chemical burning after local tumour excision.