T. S. Kanaka
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T. S. Kanaka or Thanjavur Santhanakrishna Kanaka, also known as Tanjore Santhana Krishna Kanaka, (31 March 1932 – 14 November 2018) was
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
's first female neurosurgeon and one of the world's first few female neurosurgeons. She was the first neurosurgeon in India to perform
chronic electrode implants A chronic electrode implant is an electronic device implanted chronically (for a long period) into the brain or other electrically excitable tissue. It may record electrical impulses in the brain or may stimulate neurons with electrical impulses f ...
in the brain, having been also the first to perform deep brain stimulation as early as in 1975.Kanaka T S. Back to the future: Glimpses into the past. Neurol India erial online2016 ited 2016 May 464:206-7. Available from: http://www.neurologyindia.com/text.asp?2016/64/2/206/177594 She pioneered functional neurosurgery in the 1960s and 1970s along with Prof. Balasubramaniam, Prof. S. Kalyanaraman; and received recognition for her research and contributions to the field of
stereotactic surgery Stereotactic surgery is a minimally invasive form of surgical intervention that makes use of a three-dimensional coordinate system to locate small targets inside the body and to perform on them some action such as ablation, biopsy, lesion, injec ...
.Nashold B.S. (1994). The History of Stereotactic Neurosurgery. Stereotactic Functional Neurosurgery, vol 62, Number 1-4, p.29–40. DOI:10.1159/00009859

/ref> She is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust.


Early life and education

Kanaka was one of eight children born to Santhanakrishna and Padmavathi 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 ...
. Her father was the Deputy Director of Public Instruction and Principal of Madras Teachers College. Early on, T. S. Kanaka was drawn to spiritual studies, but despite her interest went on to study medicine, completing her Bachelor of Medicine (MBBS) in December 1954 and achieving her Master of Surgery (MS) in general surgery in March 1963. In 1968, she obtained her Master of Surgery (MCh) in Neurosurgery and later completed a PhD in the Evaluation of Stereotatic surgery in Cerebral Palsy in 1972. After over 20 years of surgery, Kanaka went back to school and obtained her Diploma in Higher Education (DHEd) in 1983.


Career

Kanaka was one of the world's first female neurosurgeons; having qualified with a degree (MCh) in Neurosurgery in March 1968; after Diana Beck (1902-1956), and Aysima Altinok who qualified in November 1959. When
stereotaxy Stereotaxy (from ''stereo'' meaning "solidity", and ''tactile'' meaning "touch") refers to any technique that involves the recording and reproduction of three-dimensional haptic information or creating an illusion of depth to the sense of touch wi ...
started in Madras in 1960, Kanaka was a member of B.Ramamurthi's surgical team that performed the first stereotaxic procedures in India. Kanaka served in the Indian Army as a commissioned officer during the 1962-1963 Sino-Indian War. She was predominantly associated for most of her career with the Government General Hospital. Kanaka also taught at the Madras Medical College, Epidemiological Research Centre,
Adyar Cancer Institute The Cancer Institute (WIA - Womens' Indian Association), also known as the Adyar Cancer Institute, is a non-profit cancer treatment and research centre based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Cancer Institute (WIA) was established in the year 1952 u ...
, Hindu Mission Hospital and other hospitals. She worked with several organisations to aid provision of healthcare to economically disadvantaged people, including Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams TTD (Tirumala) for over 30 years. In 1973, she began an international travel stint, first traveling to Tokyo, Japan, which was one of three places in the world where stereotaxic procedures were performed. During this time, Kanaka completed a one-year Colombo Plan Fellowship, where she studied phrenic nerve stimulation and biomedical devices, including those for pain management and diaphragmatic pacing. Kanaka retired as a surgeon in 1990, but continued to offer consultancy services and refused to descend into private practice. In 1996, Kanaka became the Honorary President of the Asian Women's Neurosurgical Association. At that time she was formally acknowledged as Asia's first female neurosurgeon. She used her own funds to establish a hospital, named after her parents as the Sri Santhanakrishna Padmavathi Health Care and Research Foundation, which offers free healthcare to the needy. She died on 14 November 2018 at the age of 86.


Personal life

After Kanaka successfully obtained her MS degree, her younger brother became ill and died at the age of nine. This tragedy influenced Kanaka's decision to remain unmarried and instead pursue a career in medicine to dedicate her life to helping patients. Kanaka also faced much discrimination as a pioneering woman in a male-dominated field, as program leaders in her MS program were untrusting of her medical capabilities, often not choosing Kanaka for surgical procedures and limiting the cases she worked in the ER. When taking her examinations, Kanaka had to appear multiple times before she was taken seriously. Kanaka was formerly listed in the Limca Book of Records for the highest number of blood donations by an individual. As of 2004 she was noted to have donated blood 139 times.


See also

*
Yoko Kato Yoko Kato (, ''Katō Yōko'', born 9 November 1952) is a Japanese neurosurgeon. She is professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Fujita Health University. She was the first woman in Japan to be promoted to full professor of neuros ...
*
Diana Beck Diana Jean Kinloch Beck (29 June 1900 – 3 March 1956) was an English neurosurgeon and possibly the first female neurosurgeon. She established the neurosurgery service at Middlesex Hospital in London, where she gained a public profile for oper ...


References


External links


"Stereotactic surgery in India : the past, present and the future"
Ramamurthi. NeurologyIndia.com.

''New Straits Times''.

''The Hindu''. 2003-04-16. * "A lifelong passion to heal" by Sofianni Subki
AML-632
* http://greatindianheroes.com/uncategorized/dr-ts-kanaka-asias-first-female-neurosurgeon/

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanaka, T. S. Indian neurosurgeons 2018 deaths 1932 births Medical doctors from Chennai 20th-century Indian medical doctors Indian neuroscientists Indian women neuroscientists Indian women surgeons Indian surgeons 20th-century Indian women scientists Women scientists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian women medical doctors 20th-century surgeons