Dr. TS Kanaka (Thanjavur Santhanakrishna Kanaka) was a pioneer in neurosurgery, as one of the first neurosurgeons ever and the first female neurosurgeon in Asia. She paved the way through a fully male/male-dominated field and dedicated her life to helping people. She passed away at the age of 86 in November 2018, and her legacy continues.
Dr. Kanaka was born in India in 1932. She decided to dedicate her life to helping patients after her brother died of an unknown illness at the age of nine. As a medical student she chose to study deeper into the newly established field of neurosurgery. Dr. B Ramamurthi lured her into neurosurgery when he was treating her relative in the hospital. He told her, “finish your MBBS and come, I’ll teach you neurosurgery”. She then continued to study, earning a masters in general surgery at the age of 31, an MCh in Neurosurgery at 36, a PhD at 40, and a Diploma in Higher Education at the age of 51. She chose to not marry so she could devote all of her time to her career, which was extremely uncommon for a woman of her time. However, it paid off for her career and the advancement of neurosurgery. She was on one of three teams world-wide that performed stereotactic procedures to help stop tremors in people with Parkinson’s disease.
Throughout her entire career, she was surrounded by mostly men and not treated as an equal. Persistence allowed her to earn her M.S. degree and remain in medicine. “Every time I took the final exam, the external examiner from Bombay failed me. It was only in the sixth attempt that I qualified,”. The general surgery department chief made it harder for her to progress through the hospital’s hierarchy and develop an understanding of the surgeries. He made sure that she was not put on emergency visits or surgeries—instead he gave them to her male colleagues. She faced much harsher criticism and push-back from her superiors than her colleagues did. Although men attempted to use their majority power to keep her down, she persisted. She was able to establish herself as a scientist though her grit, her college dean’s support, and other mentors’ help.
Even through these struggles, she maintained her drive to help the less-fortunate. While working at the Government General Hospital and teaching at several others, she also volunteered with people who could not afford healthcare. Today, she holds the world record for giving the most blood donation, a total of 139 donations over her lifetime. Even after her retirement, she continued to help less-fortunate elders. She established the Sri Santhanakrishna Padmavathi Health, Care and Research Centre to support the elderly for free.
Dr. TS Kanaka inspires millions to try the hardest you possibly can, even when you are at a disadvantage. Even though people did not want her to succeed, she persisted. She rose above the challenges on her own.
Sources: https://www.indiamedicaltimes.com/2016/09/04/exclusive-interview-dr-t-s-kanaka-asias-first-female-neurosurgeon/ https://homegrown.co.in/article/46303/dr-t-s-kanaka-fought-all-odds-to-become-asias-first-female-neurosurgeon
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