Ravivarma Marthanda Varma was an Indian neurosurgeon, one of the pioneers of Indian neurosurgery and the founder director of the

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences is a medical institution in Bangalore, India. NIMHANS is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country. It is an Institute of National Importance operates ...

(NIMHANS). He was the originator of a new surgical procedure for treating

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

which later came to be known as ''Varma's Technique''. He was a former Deputy Director General of Health Services,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and an honorary surgeon to R. Venkataraman, former president of India. He was honoured by the

in 1972 with

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

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Biography

Marthanda Varma was born in the Royal family of

Mavelikkara Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the '' Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River. Etymology The name Mavelikar ...

which had close family connections with the Travancore royal family, his mother, Aswathynaal Kutty Amma Thampuran, was the sister of the then Maharani of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

. After graduating in medicine, he did master's course at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and completed the Fellowship of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

, becoming one of the first five neurosurgeons of India. He returned to India in 1958 and joined the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH), a mental hospital based in Bangalore, Karnataka. as the professor of neurosurgery. He became the director of the institution in 1969 and held the post until 1974. When the All India Institute of Mental Health was reconstituted as the

with the participation from the state and central governments in 1974, Varma was chosen as its founder director, a post he retained until 1977. In 1977, he was appointed as the deputy director of Health Services by the

for a one-year term. He returned to NIMHANS in 1978 and served as the director until his superannuation in 1979. He also served as the dean of the faculty of mental health and neurosciences of

Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univer ...

, as the advisor to the government of India on mental health and neurosurgery and as the honorary surgeon to R. Venkataraman, former President of India. Varma was credited with research on

and was known to have developed a minimally invasive technique for the control of the disease, the procedure now known as ''Varma's Technique''. The procedure, first introduced in 1963 by Varma, involved accessing the subthaamic nucleaus in brain through foramen ovale using syringes with the whole procedure lasting less than 20 minutes. He presented a paper on the technique at the international conference of Neurosurgeons at

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in 1965. He presented more than 40 medical papers in medical conferences and was credited with the publication of over 20 articles. Marthanda Varma was married to Malathi, a lecturer at APS college and the couple had two sons. The elder is Ravi Gopal Varma, also a neurosurgeon and the younger is Shashi Gopal Varma. He died on 10 March 2015 at

M. S. Ramaiah Mathikere Sampige Ramaiah (Kannada: ಎಂ. ಎಸ್. ರಾಮಯ್ಯ; 20 April 1922 – 25 December 1997) was a renowned educationist, Philanthropy, philanthropist, infrastructure visionary, industrialist, and a pioneer in creating several ...

Memorial Hospital, Bangalore, at the age of 93, succumbing to age related illnesses. Varma also mentored many private hospitals in Bangalore, such as Mallige Medical Centre, Manipal Hospital, and MS Ramaiah Hospital. He was also an independent director at Mallige Medical Centre. Varma, an elected 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 ...

, received the

Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November celebrated as t ...

from the government of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

in 1969. The

awarded him the civilian honour of

in 1972 and he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the World Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency (IASSMD) in 1982. He was also a recipient of the Citizen Extraordinary of Bangalore Award in 1967 and the Sir Visvesvaraya Award in 1998. The Neurological Society of Bangalore has instituted an annual oration award in his honour. He remained the Professor Emeritus of NIMHANS after his retirement until his death. He is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust.

Biography

References

Further reading