KOCHI: Asna, who lost her right leg in a crude bomb attack in Kannur at the age of five, is now a second-year student in medicine at the Kozhikode Government Medical College. For Dr K R Rajappan, the octogenarian plastic surgeon under whose supervision the surgery to fit Asna with an artificial limb was performed, it is a matter of pride and gratification.
The surgery on Asna was done free of cost at the Specialist Hospital founded by him. According to Dr Rajappan (87) - a pioneer in plastic surgery in the country - plastic surgery, like Asna, has grown to higher levels during these 17 years. From the time he started off his career, Dr Rajappan has performed thousands of plastic surgeries. This includes the surgery on Newman College, Thodupuzha, professor T J Joseph whose right hand was chopped off by religious fundamentalists.
“The surgery on Joseph was a challenging one as multiple pieces had to be re-fitted,” Rajappan said.
He started off his career as a plastic surgeon in government service in 1967. He wanted to do plastic surgery for patients at a Leprosy Hospital at Koratty in Thrissur district. However, the government denied him permission, prompting him to leave government service. During the seventies, he performed a number of plastic surgeries for people from the financially backward sections in association with various organisations.
“During the sixties and early seventies, there were not many qualified plastic surgeons in the private sector. The facilities to perform plastic surgery were available only in Delhi and Bombay. But things have changed. Today, even the most complicated surgeries, including reconstructive surgeries, are performed in Kerala,” he said.