Pioneer of Indian cardiac surgery Dr KM Cherian dies at 82

Born in Kerala, Dr KM Cherian completed his schooling in Alappuzha’s Chengannur municipality, where today stands the super-speciality Dr KM Cherian Institute of Medical Sciences providing high-end cardiac, neuro, and gastro surgeries among others. He studied medicine at Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore and started his career as a lecturer at Christian Medical College in Vellore. He was one of the first Indian cardiac surgeons to go overseas to Australia as a senior registrar (a designation for doctors undergoing extremely specialised training). He went on to study in the University of Alabama that was considered to be the Mecca of cardiac surgery.

“Deeply saddened to hear of Dr KM Cherian’s passing. His memoir was just released and we had long conversations recently – about the future of innovation and health technology development in India. Certainly a source of inspiration to many, apart from the countless lives he saved!,” said Dr Sowmya Swaminathan, former chief scientist at WHO in a post on X.

“He was one of the surgeons who was projecting India’s image across the world. He was well renowned in his field and attracted patients from everywhere. That is one thing I admired about him,” said Dr SN Narasingan, a Chennai-based physician of internal medicine and cardiology. Though not a surgeon, he has bumped into Dr Cherian at medical conferences and remembers feeling appreciated when he was congratulated after a lecture on sudden cardiac deaths.

Dr Cherian was also the founder of Frontier Lifeline hospital, a 100-bed cardiac speciality hospital in Chennai that provides care to paediatric patients from India and 21 other countries.

“He was the finder and curer of heart diseases, especially in children born with various defects. He was bold to take on the most challenging cases,” said Dr Narasigan.

Dr Cherian himself illustrated the international reach Dr Narasingan spoke about just a day before passing away at the Kerala Literature Festival. He said one of the most important moments in his life was when he got a call from a cardiac surgeon friend from Miami that there were 20 destitute Iraqi children in need of heart surgeries. It was not the surgery performed by him but the unrelated consequence that made this moment important for Dr Cherian. Two years later, he received a call from then external affairs minister E Ahamed saying that there were four Indian truck drivers being held hostage in Iraq. Dr Cherian said that the truckers managed to escape after he recorded a message to the people from Iraq.

He also boasted another unique achievement. He is one of three Indian surgeons to have their name engraved on one of the stones at Greece’s Kos Island — the birthplace of Hippocrates who is considered to be the father of modern medicine.

He was the honorary surgeon to the President of India between 1990 and 1993. He was awarded the Padma Shree in 1991.