Dr MS Valiasan leaves behind a legacy of medical innovation

Dr Marthanda Varma Sankaran Valiathan, renowned cardiac surgeon and founder director of Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Technology (SCTIMST), passed away at 9.14 pm on July 17 in Manipal. He was 90 years old.

Popularly known as Dr MS Valiasan, his distinguished career as a cardiac surgeon and his immense contribution in laying the foundation for the development of indigenous medical techniques in the country has been etched as a monument throughout history.

He was instrumental in establishing SCTIMST as an institute of national importance in 1976. He headed the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Division for 20 years, from the establishment of SCTIMST until May 1994.

One of the highlights of his long career at SCTIMST and the institute’s flagship project, the indigenous development of the country’s first artificial heart valve, the TTK-Chitra valve, is his 12-year labour of love. Dr Valiathan himself and his team implanted the first valve at SCTIMST in 1990.

To date, the Chitra heart valve prosthesis stands as a true testament to indigenous, resource-intensive and cost-effective biomedical devices in India. The low-cost, completely indigenous mechanical valve has since saved the lives of millions of poor Indians who suffered heart valve damage at a young age due to rheumatic heart disease. SCTIMST has subsequently developed improved versions of the Chitra valve.

Dr. Valiasan is a proud graduate of the first class of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, the oldest medical college in Kerala. He went on to study at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, where he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the UK in 1960 and received his Master of Surgery from the University of Liverpool. After a brief stint as a faculty member at the Postgraduate School of Medical Education and Research, he completed his cardiac surgery training at Johns Hopkins, George Washington and Georgetown University Hospital, Chandigarh, USA.

A former president of the Indian National Science Academy and a National Research Professor, Dr. Valiasan was also the first Vice Chancellor of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

A memo from MAHE noted that Dr. Valiasan’s tenure as president was marked by a commitment to academic excellence and innovation in research. Under Dr. Valiasan’s leadership, MAHE established itself as a leader in higher education, fostering an environment that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and international partnerships, attracting students and faculty from around the world.

Though active in the field of modern medicine, Dr. Valiasan had a keen interest in the Ayurvedic traditions of the country and he devoted much of his later years to in-depth research into the life and times of scholars like Charaka, Sushruta and Vagbhata, publishing three detailed monographs.

He said years of literature research convinced him that Ayurveda has concepts, procedures and products that can be investigated using modern scientific methods.

“Except for herbal medicines, there has been virtually no scientific interest in Ayurveda, which has impoverished science and Ayurveda and deprived science of the opportunity to explore uncharted territory with great potential in the country,” he wrote in the article.

Dr. Valiasan has received numerous accolades throughout his career and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2005 by the government for his contributions to the advancement of medical technology. Lifetime honours include the Dr BC Roy National Award, Hunterian Professorship of the Royal College of Surgeons of the United Kingdom, Chevalier de l’Ordre Parme Academice from the French government, Dr Samuel P. Asper Award for International Medical Education from Johns Hopkins University and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Medical Association.