TIRUVALLA: Dr Verghese Chacko (Babykutty), 89, ‘Illampallil,’ grandson of Dewan Bahadur Dr V Verghese after whom the Tiruvalla Medical Mission Hospital was named, passed away at his residence here on Monday.
The funeral will be held at the Jerusalem Mar Thoma Church, Kuttappuzha, at 2.30 pm on Saturday after the service at his residence at 2 pm.
He is the younger son of the late I C Chacko, the first Indian chief engineer of the erstwhile Travancore state. Chacko, who served as president of the Karnataka Orthopaedic Association in 1981 and the Indian Orthopaedic Association in 1987, was the founder president of the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of India in 1994.After his retirement from KMC, Manipal, he practised at Pushpagiri Medical College Hospital and Tiruvalla Medical Mission as the head of orthopaedics.
His wife Ruby (Kovoor Thoppil) had predeceased him. Dr Ashok Jacob Chacko (UK), Dr Anita Chacko (US) and Anupa Varghese (US) are his children. Dr Shobha Chacko is his daughter-in-law and and Vinu Varghese and the late Dr Kenneth Selke his sons-in-law. Dr Chacko’s grandfather, Dewan Bahadur Dr V Verghese, was chief physician to the Maharaja of Travancore.
After completing his MBBS at Madras Medical College, Chacko did his MS in Orthopaedics from Lucknow Medical College. He established the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (until then under the Department of Surgery) at KMC, Manipal, in 1967. The Orthopaedic Department flourished under his tutelage to become a globally recognized centre of excellence. The orthopaedic PG programme was started within three-four years.
Chacko initiated early research into Perthes disease and published numerous papers. He established the first Artificial Limb Centre (Orthotic and Prosthetic Department) in the region.