In an era when anaesthesia was more 'bite-down-on-this-stick' than 'count-back-from-ten,' al-Zarhawi made his mark as one of the greatest surgeons of the Middle Ages. Around the year 1,000 C.E, he wrote a 30-volume medical encyclopaedia, (brilliantly) titled ‘The Arrangement of Medical Knowledge for One Who is Not Able to Compile a Book for Himself', which included descriptions of over 200 surgical instruments. The work compiled insights and knowledge from his extensive career, spanning nearly five decades of training, teaching, and practising.

Innovating in areas like C-sections and cataract surgeries, he also cracked the mystery of paralysis, a baffling enigma until his revelation. al-Zahrawi’s contributions didn't just resonate across the ancient medical world; they've echoed into modern times, with many of his innovations used in modern medical practices today.