Karnataka   

Bangalore's first male gynaecologist

This octogenarian was born into a poor farmer's family in Hunshal village in November 1922. "I am the third of the four brothers and three sisters and the only surviving member of the family," P.R. Desai tells Vidyashree Amaresh.

HIS CHILDHOOD dream was to become a doctor. But his father, like every one of his generation, wanted him to take up government service. A rank holder in SSLC (which he did at Koppal in Gangavathi) and his intermediate (in Gulbarga), he was granted scholarship which took care of his boarding and lodging expenses as well.

His academic excellence got him an admission in the Osmania Medical College where he earned money by teaching school students and his juniors in college.

After his MBBS, and DGO from Bombay, he went to Edinborough for FRCS in obstetrics and gynaecology.

The first male gynaecologist of Bangalore had to overcome a series of protests when he came back to India and joined the Vani Vilas Hospital. There were no qualified gynaecologists then. Though the physicians had an MBBS degree, they did not have a degree to qualify their specialisation in the field of gynaecology. As there was a dearth of doctors with FRCS or MD, students were sent to Ludhiana and Mumbai for specialisation. He became the Dean of the Vani Vilas Hospital. "Being the only qualified specialist in gynaecology, I had to face many hurdles because society was very much against a male doctor. There was a time when people threw stones at our house in protest, he said. The treatment meted out by fellow physicians (particularly female doctors) was also cold and hostile." However, in the course of time, the attitude of patients and colleagues changed. People slowly came to realise that there was a need for specialised hands because though deliveries could be taken care of by a doctor, it was difficult in case of surgeries owing to a uterus rupture, tumours, cancer of uterus and big fibroids.

"In such cases, patients had to be sent to Chennai. The death rate then was high. Poor infrastructure and lack of blood bank facility added to the misery. Most gynaecologists did not believe in taking risks. The procedures were long and protracted leading to a prolonged stay in hospital. By and large, most deliveries were normal, but with a slightly higher degree of morbidity and mortality," he said. Caesarean sections were very few. It was considered to be a major procedure and a great risk to the mother and baby. The technique followed was long and cumbersome, and the stay in hospital was at least for a week with a prolonged rest for three to six months, he said.

Dr. Desai introduced newer techniques in surgery. He was the first to perform keyhole surgery (laparoscopic sterilisation) in 1971. He has to his credit 20,000 laparoscopic sterilisations.

He stopped practising when he was 77. He continues to be the Chairman and Managing Director of Dr. P.R. Desai Hospital.

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