National Plastic Surgery Day: They are not same again, thanks to plastic surgery

KOCHI: The story of Asna, who lost her right leg at the age of five, in a crude bomb attack following political violence in Kannur in 2000 is still etched in people's memory. That five-year-old girl today is an MBBS student at the Government Medical College, Kozhikode. With National Plastic Surgery Day falling on Saturday, vivid memories revisit Dr. K.R. Rajappan, the octogenarian plastic surgeon, under whose supervision the surgery to fit Asna with an artificial limb was performed, at the Specialists Hospital here. It was a matter of pride and gratification despite the anguish for him and his team. The surgery on Asna was done free of cost at the hospital, founded by Dr. Rajappan himself.

For Dr. Rajappan, now 87, Asna’s surgery was not an isolated one. In these last 17 years,plastic surgery has also grown to higher levels, says the doctor. Through the years, from when he started off his career to this day, Dr. Rajappan has performed nearly ten thousand plastic surgeries. Among them, Prof. T.J. Joseph of Newman College, Thodupuzha, whose right hand was chopped off by religious fundamentalists in connection with alleged blasphemy, also underwent surgery for reconstruction at the Specialists Hospital under the supervision of Dr. Rajappan.

The surgery on Prof. Joseph was a challenging one as multiple pieces had to be re-fitted, Dr. Rajappan says. Dr. Rajappan started off his career as a plastic surgeon in government service in 1967. During that period he wanted to carry out plastic surgery on patients at a leprosy hospital at Koratty in Thrissur district, for which the government denied the permission. This prompted him to leave government service and during 1974-75 he performed many plastic surgeries for people from the financially backward section in association with various organizations. Now as age has advanced Dr Rajappan only supervises surgeries.