The demise of Dr .M. Sambasivan has grievously weakened the Indian neurological firmament. If one is to endeavour scripting the coruscating annals of the Department of Neurosurgery at Trivandrum Medical College, it is elementary to appraise Dr Sambasivan's contribution to its evolution; his life and times are so inextricably blended with its inception and current stature. He was indeed the first authentic neurosurgeon in the State and aided diffusion of the specialty by training and nurturing many young specialists in Kerala.
His own surgical pedigree at CMC Vellore was enviable; he was tutored by the legendary master of neurosurgery, Dr. Jacob Chandy.’ Over a stretch of years they sculpted an abiding professional and academic alliance which morphed Trivandrum Medical College as the principal incubator of neurosciences in the State. His own work on intracranial aneurysms which he operated with exquisite elegance and care, gained him considerable international stature. He was reckoned as an authority in the field.
In the midst of his professional life he could indeed extract time for his episodic priestly assignments. Perhaps, it is not wrong to assume that his commitment to neurosurgery was actuated by his ingrained and immutable spirituality. He lived and thrived during the halcyon days of Trivandrum Medical College in the midst of great contemporaries such as Dr. K.N.Pai, Dr. P.K.R. Warrier, Dr. Mathew Roy, Dr. M.R.S. Menon and the like. When history of Trivandrum Medical College is chronicled his name cannot be passed over with careless inattention.
(The writer is veteran urologist and B C Roy awardee)
