I landed at the JFK airport on August 5, 1967, with seven dollars and a suitcase, a postgraduate degree in surgery from India, with a dream to become a cancer surgeon. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center offered me an opportunity to achieve that dream. I trained there, joined the faculty, became a Chairman, and continue to serve my patients, teach and train fellows, do research, publish and continue to do so. It has been an exhilarating experience.
Being at the world’s number one cancer center in itself is an accomplishment. But, bringing this cancer center to newer heights is a challenge and an opportunity of a lifetime. I did not want to miss that. And, I did not. Over the course of the past 50+ years, I served and saved the lives of thousands of patients, including royalty, heads of state, Hollywood and Bollywood stars and people from every walk of life. These patients gave me an opportunity to learn and devise “New” operations to reconstruct surgical defects.
In a teaching role, I had the opportunity to train hundreds of Residents and Fellows, who have gone on to become leaders in the specialty nationally and internationally. Thousands of visitors and observers from all corners of the world have come here to see “what we do, and how we do it”, and take that knowledge home to improve the care of their patients.
Collaborating with colleagues, trainees, and researchers, I was able to publish over 700 peer reviewed articles in high impact journals, giving me an h-index of 162, the highest among all head and neck surgeons in the world. The knowledge and experience gained here stimulated me to publish 14 textbooks in head and neck surgery, and I was honored to be the author of the “Best Medical Book” in this specialty recognized by the Royal Society of Medicine.
These academic accomplishments led to Honorary Fellowships from the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England, Edinburgh, Ireland and Australia, Honorary PhD degrees from Belgium and Greece, Honorary DSc from India, and Honorary Professorships in Russia and China. Head and Neck surgery has been a passion of my life.
This academic productivity was recognized by leadership positions in six National and International organizations, where I was privileged to serve as President. To create a global platform for exchange of ideas, research, knowledge and experiences, I with the support of my colleagues, established the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies (IFHNOS) in 1987, and I continue to serve as its CEO. The organization has 73 National organizations as its members from 60 countries.
These international collaborations have given me the opportunity to lecture at various conferences and Institutions over 2200 times. The icing on the cake has been my recognition as the Legend of my Alma Mater, Baroda Medical college of MS University as well as being recognized as the “Living Legend of Oncology” by the Indian Cancer Congress, The ICON of Head and Neck Oncology by the Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology in India, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GOPIO).
As we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America, the greatest nation in the world, I want to express my gratitude to the USA, for giving me the opportunity to build my career and my life and offering a milieu to scale newer heights, which have been aptly rewarded year after year. God bless America!
(Photo: The SATimes)
