Dr. Sharan Patil
Profile: Founder, Sparsh Hospital
He says:
• I have always preferred honesty over efficiency, candour over subordination and the opinionated over submissive
individuals.
• We must be transparent and not hesitate to ask for help. You need to have expertise and professional inputs in the areas of specialisation and that includes finance if you want to build an enterprise.
Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth. Her arrival is not associated with fear and hopelessness: Unless, of course, her name is Lakshmi Tatma. She was born with eight limbs to parents in Araria, a remote Bihar village. The villagers revered her as the incarnation of the Goddess but the parents realised there was something seriously wrong.
They took her to one of the best state-run hospitals in Delhi. The hospital wouldn’t advise a life-threatening procedure to remove the parasitical twin, without a head, growing in Lakshmi’s body.
Even as the parents were coming to terms with this, they were hounded by unscrupulous elements who wanted to buy the child and sell her as a curiosity. They panicked and fled back to their village.
When word reached Dr. Sharan Patil in September 2007, in Bangalore, the man left his work at Sparsh Hospital, which he had started a few years ago, and travelled to see Lakshmi. It was a near impossible mission to deal with the villagers who wanted her the way she was, parents who were scared, and a procedure that could only potentially, not certainly, save the baby.
Patil managed to persuade the parents to get Lakshmi to Bangalore. The rest is history. A team of doctors surgically removed the parasitical twin through a 24-hour procedure. National Geographic Channel broadcast the story in a two-part film that would make people across the world take note of India’s medical competence, and want to see Patil.
That is how I am here today. To get a sense of what makes him do what he does, I must enter his world. After an hour of conversation in his office, I don the surgical gown and we get into the operation theatre. Patil has three procedures today and I must get him in-between them. The first procedure is a knee replacement.
For the next couple of hours, he cuts open the man’s knees, tries out fitment for artificial knee caps and then fixes special steel caps that will make the patient get back his life. After the procedure, I ask Patil, how soon can the man walk again? “Tomorrow, we will make him walk a few steps,” he answers.
Surgery over, we return to the beginning, so to speak: Sharan Patil’s move back to India from Liverpool, Britain, where he trained to perform miracles.
Dr. Devi Shetty had moved into the Manipal Hospital from Kolkata almost at the same time as I did in 1997. We would sit together and ponder over the limitation we had. In 2001, he moved out to build the Narayana Hrudayalaya. Though restless, I continued in my comfortable job.
(This story appears in the 16 December, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
GREAT job doctor continue ur service to the society people treat u as THE GOD
on Apr 4, 2014please sir help me mene apko national geographi me dekha he im handicap sir me Gujarat ke ek gau me rehta hu mere per ki haddi 12bar tut chuki he
on Dec 28, 2013hello sir, i have seen the lakshmi operation in National Geographic Channel . It is great. Sir, mine is not a comment, I have my daughter 10 yrs of age , she has walking disability. Dr of Guwahati told me it is maidly ceribal palsis, flate toe. I want to take her to yr hospital. But the expance of travel will be high Frm Guwahati to bangalore because I cannot take the risk of travelling on train with her due to her disability. Sir, can I upload her xray and other reports somewhere so that you can see those and guide me initially. then I will plan and visit you for her. Sir, kindly help me.
on Oct 7, 2013For the 2nd time in 2 days I feel inspired to post my comment. Dr. Sharan.Patil, you are great and make us feel proud as Indians. Always ready to be of any service to you in my humble capacity. Thanks to Mr.Bagchi for transporting me to a different world and making me feel that I can be of relevance and contribute something to be of help to people. Sir,carry on with your good job.
on Apr 10, 2012Kudos to Dr. Sharan Patil! It feels heartening to know that in an age of commercialized health care system, hospitals like Sparsh are sprouting to be the source of positive change.
on Dec 15, 2011I think this is by far one of the best interviews in Zen Garden. And Subroto Bagchi actually went into the operation theatre - amazing!
on Dec 3, 2011Mr Bagchi not only came into the operating room he was highly inquisitive and involved in the surgery. Given a chance and the licence he may have operated as well.
on Dec 4, 2011