Sunkara Balaparameswara Rao (12 February 1928 – 22 March 2019) was an Indian

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...

. He is regarded as the 'father of neurosurgery in united

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

'. He started the first Department of Neurosurgery in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in April 1956. He received the

Dr. B. C. Roy award The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award is an award instituted in 1962 in memory of Dr. B. C. Roy by the Medical Council of India. It is presented by the President of India in New Delhi every year on July 1, National Doctors' Day. It is also the highest h ...

in 1989.

Early life

Sunkara Balaparameswara Rao was born on 12 February 1928 in a Kapu family in

Bhimavaram Bhimavaram is a city and headquarters of West Godavari district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bhimavaram mandal in Bhimavaram revenue division. It is a part of Eluru Urban Development Authorit ...

West Godavari The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded ...

district of present-day

. He did his early education in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, Bhimavaram and

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

. As a student, he was active in sports and won many laurels a sportsman and a tennis champion. Balaparameswara Rao was an accidental doctor. He studied

intermediate course Intermediate may refer to: * Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2, educational qualifications in Scotland * Intermediate (anatomy), the relative location of an anatomical structure lying between two other structures: see Anatomical terms of location * ...

in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry (MPC) stream. However, the postcard intimating his admission into engineering reached a couple of months late, forcing him to take up MBBS as the medical college seat was open to students of the MPC stream at the time. He did his

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1945-50 and MS in 1954 in

General surgery General surgery is a Surgical specialties, surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and Abdomen, abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, Appendix (anatomy ...

, both from

Andhra Medical College Andhra Medical College is a public medical college in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, and affiliated to Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences. It is the oldest medical college in Andhra Pradesh, the sixth oldest & one of the top medi ...

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

Career

After graduating from MBBS and MS (General Surgery), Balaparameswara Rao trained in Neurosurgery under B. Ramamurthy in Madras. After his training in Madras, he established the Department of Neurosurgery at the King George Hospital (KGH) and

(AMC) in April 1956. It is the first Department of Neurosurgery in united Andhra Pradesh. It was the fourth neurosurgery department in India and the first such to be started by a person trained in India. He went to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

under the

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri ...

for a year in 1959. After his return from UK, he became the Professor of Neurosurgery in 1961. He headed the Neurosurgery department at AMC till 1974. In March 1974, Balaparameswara Rao left for

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

and headed the neurosurgery departments in the

Osmania Medical College Osmania Medical College is a Government Medical College in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was founded in 1846 by the 5th Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar, Afzal ud Dowla, Asaf Jah V. The college was originally affiliated to Osmania Universit ...

and the Nizam's Institute at

. Later, he became the Principal of Osmania Medical College and the first Superintendent and architect of what became the

Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) is a public hospital located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India and is named after its founder – the 7th Nizam of the erstwhile Hyderabad State– and was inaugurated by Princess Durreshehvar. It is an ...

. He was also a Member and later a Fellow of the

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a non-constitutional, non-statutory advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a promoting agency for contin ...

, New Delhi, and the Senate of

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

; and, the Vice President (1973) and later the President (1974) of

Neurological Society of India Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the s ...

. Balaparameswara Rao ran free clinics at the St Theresa's Hospital, Hyderabad, from 1983 to 2008. In 2016, he participated in the

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

celebrations of the neurosurgery department of KGH/AMC, which he had established in 1956. Along with his wife, Nagaratnam he was honoured at the Andhra Pradesh Neuro Scientists Association (APNSA) meet in

Nellore Nellore, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Personal life

Balaparameswara Rao married Nagaratnam in 1955. His grandson Raja Gopal Sunkara is an IAS Officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. Balaparameswara Rao 's brother, Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao is an

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

and a recipient of

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Awards and honours

Balaparameswara Rao was awarded the

Dr. B. C. Roy Award The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award is an award instituted in 1962 in memory of Dr. B. C. Roy by the Medical Council of India. It is presented by the President of India in New Delhi every year on July 1, National Doctors' Day. It is also the highest h ...

for developing neurosurgery in Andhra Pradesh. In 2008, he was conferred an honorary degree of

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

by the

Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS) is a public university in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. History The university was established as "University of Health Sciences" by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and was inaugurated ...

. In 2015, he was awarded Lifetime Achievement award by the

Telangana government The Government of Telangana also known as Telangana Government, is the governing authority of the States and union territories of India, state of Telangana in India. It consists of an executive branch, executive, a judiciary and a legislative. ...

. * Ebden Gold Medal for outstanding performance in M.S. (General Surgery). * Distinguished Scientist award from Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences in 1999. * Dr. B. C. Roy National award in 1989 for organizing and developing Neurosurgery in Andhra Pradesh. * Lifetime Achievement Award from Golden Jubilee Celebrations committee of Department of Neurosurgery of Andhra Medical College and King George Hospital in 2005. * Lifetime Achievement Award at Regional Asian Stroke Congress and 1st National Conference of Indian Stroke Association at Chennai on 5 January 2006. * Honorary Doctorate conferred by NTR University of Health Sciences on 18 February 2008 at Vijayawada. * Lifetime Achievement Award by International Neuro Spinal Surgeons Association of India at the annual conference at Bengaluru on 9 September 2011. * Ugadi Puraskaram by the Andhra Pradesh Government in 2012. * Honorary Doctorate conferred by

GITAM University Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) is a private deemed university located in Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The university was founded by the late M. V. V. S. Murthi in Visakhapatnam in 1980. It was previously aff ...

, Visakhapatnam on 15 September 2012. * Lifetime Achievement Award by Neurological Society of India at 64th Annual Conference at Hyderabad on 17 December 2015. * Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Sunkara Balaparameswara Indian neurosurgeons 1928 births People from West Godavari district Academic staff of Osmania University Indian medical academics Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences Medical doctors from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian surgeons Andhra University alumni Academic staff of Andhra University Dr. B. C. Roy Award winners 2019 deaths Telugu people