India’s cardiac surgery pioneer Dr KM Cherian passes away at 82
Dr Cherian was the first surgeon to perform coronary artery bypass surgery in India, at the Railway Hospital in Perambur in 1975.
Dr KM Cherian
CHENNAI: Dr Kotturathu Mammen Cherian, the first surgeon to perform coronary artery bypass surgery in India and the first to perform a heart transplant, passed away in Bengaluru late on Saturday. Reports said the 82-year-old collapsed at a family function and was declared dead after being rushed to Manipal Hospitals around 11.55 pm.
Dr Cherian was the first surgeon to perform coronary artery bypass surgery in India, at the Railway Hospital in Perambur in 1975. Two decades later, he also became the first to perform a heart transplant after the legalisation of brain death in 1995, and then conducted India's first heart-lung transplant in 1997.
Later, he became India’s foremost specialist in pediatric surgery and performed the first paediatric cardiac surgery and laser heart surgery in the country.
His legendary expertise made him the beacon of hope for hundreds who came in from around the country and also from abroad, who trusted him with their lives.
Hailing from Alappuzha in Kerala, then part of the Madras Presidency, on March 8, 1942, Cherian grew up in Munnar where his father was a tea estate staff. Later, he studied medicine at Kasturba Medical College in Karnataka. Dr Cherian also gained experience at foreign institutions in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Those who knew him say he got offers to work there, but he chose to return to India to work among the patients who needed his services more.
He was a lecturer at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, and has served at the Railway Hospital and Vijaya Hospital. Later, he became the founder-director of the Madras Medical Mission. Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Frontier Lifeline Hospital and Frontier Mediville, Dr Cherian Heart Foundation and Dr KM Cherian Institute of Medical Sciences were set up by him.
Dr Cherian also headed charitable trusts, including the Cherian Foundation in Chennai, that work for the welfare of schoolchildren, marginalised women fighting cancer, underprivileged communities lacking basic healthcare facilities, and disaster relief. He also set up an educational trust that runs an international school called The Study – L'ecole Internationale in Puducherry.
Acknowledging his contribution, Dr Cherian was bestowed with Padma Shri in 1991. Among the other honours he received include lifetime achievement award from his alma mater, Kasturba Medical College; Harvard Medical Excellence Award in 2005; Wockhardt Medical Excellence Award, etc.
