History of the Department

Dr CJT Pinto (7.10.16-9.9.1970)

"It is one of the lessons of history of science that each age steps on the shoulders of the ages which have gone before. The value of each age is not its own, but is in part, in large part, a debt of its forerunners"

- Michael Forrester

The Beginning

The Plastic Surgery Department at Seth G.S.Medical College and K.E.M.Hospital was inaugurated on December 1961 on the initiative of Dr. C.J.T. Pinto, the active support of Dr. S.V.Joglekar, the then Dean and the participation of Mr. Eric Peet of Oxford who was actively involved during the first three months of its existence and for a month each during the next two years. Dr. Ananta Puranik and Dr. Deodutt Bendre were the first Surgical Registrar and House Surgeon respectively. We had about 30 dedicated beds and a dedicated operation theatre. The last was a gracious gesture of Dr. H. N. Dastur, the then Professor and Head of the Department of Neurosurgery. The OT was shared between the two departments at this stage, but as soon as the Neurosurgery OT Complex was commissioned, we were vested with the exclusive use of this OT complex.

The OT Complex

The OT complex occupies the centre of our department and our growth has been centered around it. The large window occupying its northern wall provides a soothing background of greenery and of birds hopping around. Two decades later the theatre was renovated and air-conditioned. From the very inception, we were well equipped. We obtained an electric dermatome in 1965 and we were the first to have a flash sterilizer and an operating microscope and power instruments for craniofacial surgery.

The Building Of A Team

In April 1962, less than four months after its inception, Dr. Goleria joined the unit as Honorary Assistant Professor. On the same day on which Dr Goleria joined, Dr. Mrs Divekar, with experience in Plastic Surgery Anaesthesia, joined our OT and remained with us as a dedicated anaesthetist for years to come. Sister Solomon, trained abroad in Plastic Surgery, assumed the charge of our OT from its very inception. A few years later Mrs. Sheth, who not only had the skills of a dedicated Speech Therapist but also a special concern for our Cleft patients, joined us. Dr C.V.Mehendale, after a long stint in UK joined our department, as a 'Pool Officer' in 1966 and after a short while was absorbed in the Faculty.

Individuals, Leadership And Contributions

Dr. Charles J. T. Pinto

The speed and the methodical manner of the establishment of this department, speak volumes for the vision, dedication and tenacity of its founder. Dr. Pinto was a kind person, a compassionate human being, a loyal friend and an ever-willing fighter for justice. He was widely loved and respected. His memory lives not only in the department that he founded, but also in the Dr. Charles Pinto Centre dedicated to the treatment of Cleft lip and palate, founded by Dr. Hirji Adenwalla at Trichur, Kerala and in the CME programme of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India which was dedicated to him years after he passed away. He had an abiding interest in the management of cleft lip and palate. The workload of clefts was heavy. Following cleft lip repair, to ensure timely repair of the palate and to cope with non-compliance they began doing both lip and palate simultaneously. Dr. Pinto using the golf terminology called this a 'Hole-in-one Repair', a concept that became dear to the heart of his successor. Along with Dr.Peet he described a procedure for urethroplasty in Hypospadias which was widely used in the department till early seventies. Realizing the importance of exposure to trauma management in the training of a Plastic Surgeon, the management of hand and maxillofacial trauma was brought within the purview of our department in 1965.

Dr. Pinto's love for the department was unlimited. He passed away on 9th September 1970, at the age of 54 - as he would have wished - in harness and within the department, soon after completing an operation.

Dr. Kuldip Singh Goleria

Shortly after Dr.Pinto's death the mantle of heading the department fell on Dr. Goleria. Dr. Goleria's interest in the 'Hole-in-one repair' of cleft lip and palate has been an abiding interest for over 40 years. In the initial stages it was the socio-economic need. Today it is the dictate of the local morbid anatomy. In 1980, part of the plastic surgery ward was converted to a 12-bedded Burns Unit for adult female patients with or below 50% burns. The aim was to do early grafting so as to prevent the development of deformities and contractures in females. This is the only plastic surgery department in BMC to have a Burns unit attached to it. The work of Tessier on Craniofacial surgery witnessed at the 5th IPRS had aroused a desire to establish this specialty in the department. The advent of craniofacial surgery in 1983 - even then, a pioneering venture as far as our country was concerned was possible with the co-operation of the departments of Neurosurgery, Anesthesiology and Paediatric Surgery.

Dr. Chintamani V. Mehendale

Dr. Mehendale's association with our department had spanned two decades, when he retired in 1986. Essentially, an individualist, he was a dedicated personality, intense in whatever he did and totally devoted to the welfare of the patients under his care. Improvisation and a quest for technical perfection were inbuilt in his personality. Endowed with a scientific mind and a fund of scientific knowledge, his inputs were wide ranging, from creating awareness of the requirements of Medical photography to the development of Surgical Instrumentation. He devised a collapsible vaginal mould for Vaginoplasty both for intra-operative and post-operative use. He also developed a "harness" for facial fractures, a pencil wire twister for jaw wiring, a needle holder for palate repair, a dynamic jaw exerciser, an adjustable skin grafting board and a blade guard. He mastered and developed the art of making facial moulages and photography. His interest in the Indian classical music and his knowledge of the physics of sound production was unique and manifested itself in developing "Anil Vadyam" a new musical instrument.

Dr. Suresh R. Tambweka

Dr.Tambwekar's interest in micro-vascular surgery precipitated the acquisition of an operating microscope. Re-plantations and free-flaps began to appear on our operation list in increasing numbers. Dr. Tambwekar is one of the pioneers of Microvascular surgery in India and he has also been the leading force in the establishment of an organised training programme at the Ethicon Institute which attracts trainees from all over the country. A visit to China aroused his interest in the management of filarial lymphedema. Under his leadership the ovens used to provide the treatment in China were evolved into special chambers for providing heat therapy. In intractable cases, MRI venography led him to observe perivenous fibrosis in some cases. These improved after venolysis. A joint study was carried out by Dr. Tambwekar with Professor Edwin Turkof of Vienna, on the identification of the level of nerve blocks in Leprosy (for the purposes of selecting the site for nerve decompression) by the use of intra-operative evoked potential studies.

Dr. Roshani E. Rana

Dr. Rana, an alumnus of this institution, had joined the department as a postgraduate student in 1976. After her post-graduation she continued in the department as a Lecturer, and in 1989, on the retirement of Dr. Goleria assumed the responsibilities of Professor and Head of the department. Her interest in the treatment of vascular malformations has been enriched by the support of an excellent interventional radiology department. Pre-operative embolization of vascular malformations of head and face has made surgery almost bloodless. Availability of fibre-optic bronchoscope has enormously helped the work on Temporo-mandibular joint ankylosis. The covering of the new articular surfaces with fascia lata on either side after release of ankylosis has made the post-operative course pain free. The department continues to attract patients from other parts of India for the management of Mullerian agenesis and other intersex problems.