Some Proud Moments

Dr. Rustom Vakil studied medicine in London, training at St. Thomas’s Hospital under the mentorship of esteemed cardiologists including Sir John Parkinson, Sir Maurice Cassidy, and Paul Wood

After returning to India, he focused on pioneering the use of Rauwolfia serpentina, an ancient Indian drug from sarpagandha roots, for treating hypertension

In October 1949, he published a pioneering paper in the British Heart Journal that revolutionized hypertension treatment in medicine

KEM’s Psychiatry Department led in adopting EEG prior to Neurology, and pioneering the use of the Polygraph for psychological parameter research

Dr. Vahia also promoted holistic well-being through the integration of Patanjali yoga

Dr. Ramchandra Ginde, trained at the Montreal Neurologic Institute by Drs. Penfield & Cone, pioneered Neurosurgery at our alma mater

He was renowned for his meticulous approach, personally tending to postoperative dressings and meticulously documenting procedures in comprehensive reports, now archived within the Neurosciences Department

Despite the initial challenge of late surgeries in the general theatre and emergency corridor procedures, Dr. Dastur persevered

He pioneered a Neuroradiology unit, with advanced tools including a tilting table for myelography and a Schoenander skull unit for cranial radiology

Dr. K.S. Goleria pioneered craniofacial surgery, influenced by Dr. Paul Tessier and a visit to Dr. Ion Munro in Toronto

In 1983, India’s first craniofacial surgery, led by Drs. Goleria and Karapurkar at KEM Hospital, with support from Dr. B.B. Mody and Dr. Mukund Thatte, marked a historic moment in Indian medicine

Since its 1956 inception by Dr. H.M. Dastur, the Neurosurgery Department has led in diagnostic Neuro-Radiological techniques like angiography, ventriculography, pneumo-encephalography, and myelography

In 1976, Dr. S. K. Pandya introduced transfemoral cerebral angiography and started interventional procedures by 1978

In 1980, Dr. Anil Karapurkar trained in Neuro-Intervention in Nancy, France, enabling routine neurovascular interventions for cranial and spinal cases

Profulla Kumar Sen (1915-1982), a renowned Indian cardiothoracic surgeon, was acclaimed for his extensive research contributions

He pioneered a transmyocardial acupuncture method for treating ischemic myocardium and developed a unique aortic arch replacement technique

On February 16, 1968, after extensive work with animal models, P.K. Sen performed India’s first cardiac transplantation, the sixth such procedure worldwide

Transcatheter closure of a large aortopulmonary window in the world’s tiniest neonate

Following her training in Cardiopulmonary pathology under the mentorship of Dr. Maurice Lev and Dr. Averill Leibow, Dr. Suman Kinare returned to KEM

Under Dr. P.K. Sen’s guidance, she led India’s first unit and made significant contributions, notably describing Mid Aortic syndrome, called Sen-Kinare syndrome and now recognized as Takayasu arteritis

U.K. Sheth, the renowned Father of Clinical Pharmacology in India, led the Pharmacology department and undertook a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in the USA, collaborating with Professor Herb Borison in Professor L. S. Goodman’s department

In retirement, he consulted for the World Health Organization (WHO) on pharmacology, with a 14-year stint in Geneva focusing on malaria

Later, he became Professor Emeritus at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s SPARC and acted as a senior advisor to the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at GSMC

Her commitment won admiration from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and her esteemed reputation endures till today

At the Indian Research Station ‘Maitri,’ she provided medical care, handled emergencies, and earned the title ‘Polar Woman’