Thirunavuk Arasu Sinnathuray (c. 1933- 1997) was a Malaysian

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

. He was the first Malaysian doctor to possess both the diplomas of MRCOG (Member of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology ) and the FRCS (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons).

Career

He practised as an obstetrician at

Kandang Kerbau Hospital KK Women's and Children's Hospital (abbreviation: KKH) is the largest public hospital specialising in healthcare for women and children in Singapore, located at 100 Bukit Timah Road. From its humble beginnings as a small Hospital, general hospi ...

(Singapore). He was Honorary Secretary of the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) (6th council) in 1966/67. He delivered the 4th Galloway Memorial Lecture ( Singapore Academy of Medicine) on ''Amniotomy in the Treatment of Placental Insufficiency Syndrome'' in 1964. Sinnathuray was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at

Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya The Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya (commonly known as the UM Medical School, FoM UM, UM Medicine, or Malaya Medicine) is one of the thirteen faculties of the Universiti Malaya (UM). It was officially established in September 1962 after t ...

in 1970 and remained in office till 1986. The department gained full accreditation by the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, United Kingdom in 1970, the first Malaysian unit to be so recognised. Sinnathuray headed a team of twelve specialists who successfully performed the first intrauterine transfusion in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

in early 1970. In 1980, Sinnathuray was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, UM. He was a prolific researcher with over 60 scientific publications in indexed medical journals in an era that predated the internet or

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available exte ...

. In 1982, Sinnathuray was appointed vice-chairman of the 7th session of the Regional Western Pacific Advisory Committee on Medical Research (WPACMR) at the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) and in 1985 Sinnathuray became the first academic from an ASEAN university to be invited as an external examiner to Australia. He was President of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Malaysia (OGSM) in 1971/72.

Personal life

He studied at

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

and graduated from the

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

(in Singapore) in 1956. Sinnathuray married twice. He died in 1997 (aged sixty-four) from chronic diabetes-related cardiovascular disease. He is survived by two sons from his first marriage, both British/Irish trained doctors; a paediatrician (Kanaga Raj) and an otorhinolaryngologist (ENT surgeon) (Arasa Raj). T.A.Sinnathuray and pioneering anaesthesiologist T.Sachithanandan were brothers-in-law. His elder brother is retired Singapore judge T. S. Sinnathuray, who was born on 22 September 1930 and died on 18 January 2016 after attaining the age of 85.

Recognition

Sinnathuray was knighted by the 5th Yang di-Pertua (Governor) of Penang, His Excellency Tun

Awang Hassan Awang bin Hassan (; 9 November 1910 – 12 September 1998) was a Malaysian politician and doctor who served as the 5th Governor of Penang from 1981 until his retirement in 1989. He had previously served as the 7th Malaysian High Commiss ...

(himself an eminent first generation obstetrician) when he was conferred the ''Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri'' (DSPN) in 1985. ''The TA Sinnathuray Academic Award in Obstetrics and Gynaecology'' was inaugurated in 2005 in his memory and is awarded to the First Prize Medallist in the final Masters examination in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Conjoint Board of

University Sains Malaysia Universiti Sains Malaysia ( 'University of Science Malaysia'; abbreviated as USM) is a public research university in Malaysia. Founded on 1 June 1969 as a statutory body with its own constitution, it is the oldest institute of higher learning ...

and

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia The National University of Malaysia (, abbreviated as UKM) is a public research university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinnathuray, T.A. 1933 births 1997 deaths Malaysian obstetricians Malaysian gynaecologists Academic staff of the University of Malaya Malaysian people of Tamil descent Malaysian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Raffles Institution alumni Malaysian people of Indian descent Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England