Puliyur Krishnaswamy Duraiswami (1912–1974) was an Indian orthopedic surgeon, medical writer and the Director General of Health Services under the Government of India. Besides being a Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. T ...

and a founder Fellow of the ''National Academy of Medical Sciences'', he published several articles on orthopedics and was a recipient of Robert Jones Medal and the ''Presidential Merit Award'' of the

British Orthopaedic Association The British Orthopaedic Association is a professional association in Britain for doctors who specialize in orthopaedic surgery. History The British Orthopaedic Association was founded in 1918. One of the founders was Harry Platt, who went on t ...

. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, in 1966, for his contributions to the Medical Science.

Biography

Duraiswami was born on 23 April 1912 at Puliyur, in the south Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and secured his graduate (MBBS) and post graduate (MS) degrees in medicine from the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

, Chennai in 1936 and 1942 respectively. Starting his career as a surgeon at the

Government Royapettah Hospital Government Royapettah Hospital is a major state-owned hospital situated in Royapettah in Chennai, India. The hospital with 712 beds is funded and managed by the state government of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1911 and is attached to Directora ...

in 1942 and working there for one year, he joined the Armed Forces towards the later stages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and served the forces till 1947 as a surgical specialist. In 1948, he moved to England, on a research fellowship from the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, and stayed there at the Department of Surgery of the university from where he secured MCh, and later, FRCS in 1949. Continuing his researches, he obtained a doctoral degree from the university in 1951, reportedly the first time the

awarding a doctorate in orthopedics for an original research. Afterwards, he worked at the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

as a member of faculty in orthopedic surgery for two years. His stay of five years in UK earned him several honours including a Hunterian Professorship of Liverpool University and two medals, the ''Robert Jones Medal'' and the ''Presidential Merit Award'', from the

. He returned to India in 1953 to join the

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, also known as AIIMS Delhi, is a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the Minis ...

, as the chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and contributed to the establishment of the ''Central Institute of Orthopaedics'', New Delhi, as a satellite centre of the Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi. In 1954, he was appointed as the director of the Institute but moved to the hospital mainstream activities as the senior orthopedic surgeon in 1960, a post he held till his death in 1974. He also held the post of the Director General of Health Services of the Government of India, advising on ''orthopaedics and rehabilitation'' related matters, during which time he is reported to have proposed and implemented the concept of mobile medical units as an outreach programme to cater to the rural areas. When the National Academy of Medical Sciences was established in 1961, he was among the founder fellows of the Academy. He was the author of several notable articles on orthopedics and a historical account, ''5000 years of Orthopaedics in India''. The Government awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

in 1966. Duraiswami, a Fellow of the

, died on 11 March 1974, succumbing to the complexities following a cerebral haemorrhage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duraiswami, Puliyur Krishnaswamy Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine 1912 births 1974 deaths Medical doctors from Tamil Nadu Indian orthopedic surgeons Indian medical researchers Indian medical writers Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons Indian medical academics University of Madras alumni Alumni of the University of Liverpool Johns Hopkins Hospital physicians All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi faculty 20th-century Indian medical doctors 20th-century surgeons

Biography

See also

References