Sunkara Balaparameswara Rao (12 February 1928 – 22 March 2019) was an Indian neurosurgeon. He is regarded as the 'father of neurosurgery in united

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

'. He started the first Department of Neurosurgery in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in April 1956. He received the

Dr. B. C. Roy award The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award was instituted in 1962 in memory of Dr. B. C. Roy by the Medical Council of India. It is presented by the President of India in New Delhi every year on July 1, National Doctors' Day. It is also the highest honour tha ...

in 1989.

Early life

Sunkara Balaparameswara Rao was born on 12 February 1928 in a

Kapu Kapu may refer to: * Kapu (Hawaiian culture), a Hawaiian code of conduct * Kapu (caste), a social group of India * Kapu, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India ** Kapu Assembly constituency * Kapu, Arunachal Pradesh, a settlement in Tirap district, A ...

family in

Bhimavaram Bhimavaram is a city and headquarters of West Godavari district of the Andhra Pradesh state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bhimavaram mandal in Bhimavaram revenue division. It is a part of Bhimavaram Urban Development Aut ...

, West Godavari district of present-day

. He did his early education in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, Bhimavaram and Machilipatnam. As a student, he was active in sports and won many laurels a sportsman and a tennis champion. Balaparameswara Rao was an accidental doctor. He studied

intermediate course Intermediate may refer to: * Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2, educational qualifications in Scotland * Intermediate (anatomy), the relative location of an anatomical structure lying between two other structures: see Anatomical terms of location ...

in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry (MPC) stream. However, the postcard intimating his admission into engineering reached a couple of months late, forcing him to take up MBBS as the medical college seat was open to students of the MPC stream at the time. He did his

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1945-50 and MS in 1954 in

General surgery General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid ...

, both from

Andhra Medical College Andhra Medical College is in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, and affiliated to NTR University of Health Sciences. It is the oldest medical college in Andhra Pradesh, and the sixth oldest in India. It is recognized by the Medical Council of ...

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

Career

After graduating from MBBS and MS (General Surgery), Balaparameswara Rao trained in Neurosurgery under B. Ramamurthy in Madras. After his training in Madras, he established the Department of Neurosurgery at the King George Hospital (KGH) and

(AMC) in April 1956. It is the first Department of Neurosurgery in united Andhra Pradesh. It was the fourth neurosurgery department in India and the first such to be started by a person trained in India. He went to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

under the

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

for a year in 1959. After his return from UK, he became the Professor of Neurosurgery in 1961. He headed the Neurosurgery department at AMC till 1974. In March 1974, Balaparameswara Rao left for

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

and headed the neurosurgery departments in the

Osmania Medical College Osmania Medical College, formerly known as ''The Hyderabad Medical School'', is a medical college in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was founded in 1846 by the 5th Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar, Afzal ud Dowla, Asaf Jah 5. The college was orig ...

and the Nizam's Institute at

. Later, he became the Principal of Osmania Medical College and the first Superintendent and architect of what became the

Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) is a public hospital located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India and is named after its founder – the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad– and was inaugurated by Princess Durreshehvar It is an Institute under St ...

. He was also a Member and later a Fellow of the

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a nodal agency under the Government of India, which acts as an advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a ...

, New Delhi, and the Senate of

Andhra University Andhra University (IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest do ...

; and, the Vice President (1973) and later the President (1974) of

Neurological Society of India The Neurological Society of India (NSI) is the apex body representing neuroscientists of the country. It was founded in 1951 by Jacob Chandy, Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi, S. T. Narasimhan, and Baldev Singh (neurologist), Baldev Singh, who together ...

. Balaparameswara Rao ran free clinics at the St Theresa's Hospital, Hyderabad, from 1983 to 2008. In 2016, he participated in the

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

celebrations of the neurosurgery department of KGH/AMC, which he had established in 1956. Along with his wife, Nagaratnam he was honoured at the Andhra Pradesh Neuro Scientists Association (APNSA) meet in

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...

in 2017 on their 63rd wedding anniversary. He actively practiced Neurosurgery even at the age of 90 years. He died on 22 March 2019.

Personal life

Balaparameswara Rao married Nagaratnam in 1955. His grandson Raja Gopal Sunkara is an

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

Officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. Balaparameswara Rao 's brother, Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao is an orthopedic surgeon and a recipient of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

Awards and honours

Balaparameswara Rao was awarded the

Dr. B. C. Roy Award The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award was instituted in 1962 in memory of Dr. B. C. Roy by the Medical Council of India. It is presented by the President of India in New Delhi every year on July 1, National Doctors' Day. It is also the highest honour tha ...

for developing neurosurgery in Andhra Pradesh. In 2008, he was conferred an honorary degree of

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

by the

Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences DR Y.S.R University of Health Sciences; DR.YSRUHS: ''Ḍā. En. Ṭī. Ār. Ārogyașāstra Vișvavidyālayamu'')is a public university in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, History The university was established as University of Health ...

. In 2015, he was awarded Lifetime Achievement award by the Telangana government. * Ebden Gold Medal for outstanding performance in M.S. (General Surgery). * Distinguished Scientist award from Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences in 1999. * Dr. B. C. Roy National award in 1989 for organizing and developing Neurosurgery in Andhra Pradesh. * Lifetime Achievement Award from Golden Jubilee Celebrations committee of Department of Neurosurgery of Andhra Medical College and King George Hospital in 2005. * Lifetime Achievement Award at Regional Asian Stroke Congress and 1st National Conference of Indian Stroke Association at Chennai on 5 January 2006. * Honorary Doctorate conferred by NTR University of Health Sciences on 18 February 2008 at Vijayawada. * Lifetime Achievement Award by International Neuro Spinal Surgeons Association of India at the annual conference at Bengaluru on 9 September 2011. * Ugadi Puraskaram by the Andhra Pradesh Government in 2012. * Honorary Doctorate conferred by

GITAM University Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) is a private deemed university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Founded by the late Dr M. V. V. S. Murthi in 1980 in Visakhapatnam, it also has campus in Hyderabad and Bengaluru ...

, Visakhapatnam on 15 September 2012. * Lifetime Achievement Award by Neurological Society of India at 64th Annual Conference at Hyderabad on 17 December 2015. * Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Sunkara Balaparameswara Indian neurosurgeons 1928 births People from West Godavari district Academic staff of Osmania University Indian medical academics Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences Medical doctors from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian medical doctors 20th-century surgeons Andhra University alumni Academic staff of Andhra University Dr. B. C. Roy Award winners 2019 deaths Telugu people