Evolution of Peruvian gynecology up to the Bicentennial, and the future

Abstract

A brief overview of the evolution of gynecology in Peru in the last 200 years is done. Following the medicine and surgery practiced by the inhabitants in the pre-Hispanic era, known through their huacos and archeological sites, and after the development of diagnostic and operative gynecology with the systematic use of the speculum in the 19th century, which made possible interventions such as uterine curettage and posterior colpotomy for the drainage of pelvic abscesses, the history of Peruvian gynecology would begin in 1878, when Lino Alarco performed the first gynecological surgery by laparotomy to remove an ovarian tumor. Néstor Corpancho, in his service at the Hospital de Santa Ana, was the first to perform myomectomies by laparotomy, as well as hysterectomies. In 1879, the Chair of Gynecology was created in the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, and later the first modern operating room was installed in Peru. In 1898, Constantino T. Carvallo initiated the training of brilliant gynecologists, which was later continued with the schooling of specialists and access to updated medical information. Current COVID-19 pandemic requires monitoring of women's short and long term health, their gestations and newborns' lives, greater investment in health, trained professionals in emergency and person-centered health, research on diseases and their prevention, learn more about genetics, immunology, metabolic syndrome and related comorbidities (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus), how to prolong healthy life, use nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and more.