OBITUARY

Prof. Dr. S. Vanchilingam was born in Vikramam ,an agricultural village near Pattukottai,Thanjavur District,Tamilnadu. Born as the youngest of four children in a humble agricultural family ,he went on to become the first doctor amongst the surrounding 32 villages. His illustrious career inspired many from the surrounding area to dream big and seek medicine as a career.

He did his undergraduation  in the first batch of Thanjavur Medical College in 1961 ,MD(Gen Med) from Madurai Medical College, and DM Neurology from Institute of Neurology MIN) ,Madras Medical College. His passion to serve in his native district and his own people  brought him back to Thanjavur after his DM and he continued his government service as Assistant Professor of Neurology and later as Professor of Neurology until his retirement . The first CT scan in the entire surrounding districts both in the governement set up and in the private sector was due to his efforts .

Being a passionate physician and an excellent clinician he established a formidable  private practice in Thanjavur , with the aim of providing state of the art Neuro  facilities and treatments  under one roof in a Tier 2 city on par with international standards. He began talking about 'Door to Needle Time' and 'Time is brain ' concepts in stroke, practicing out of a non urban place, even when these concepts were just catching up in the west. He was well read and updated in his knowledge and was willing to try new treatments , plasma exchange and IVIG were his practice norms for the last two decades . He became the voice of stroke in Tamilnadu and his thrombolysis numbers speak for themselves. 

 He was an excellent teacher and inspired many young doctors who worked under him to take up neurology , almost every MD registrar who worked under him in his hospital went on to DM Neurolgy .He was a cheerful and soft spoken person, friendly and approachable at all times ,his largesse to people both doctors and non doctors was phenomenal and he kept it very personal .Medicine kindled his mind and soul and any discussion on medicine always brought a spark to his eyes .He was the founding president of TamilNadu and Podicherry association of Neurologists (TAN) and conducted its first ever conference , he was someone who shied away from state and central governement  awards and medals and positions and always let his scientific work and philanthropic work to do the talking .

He is survived by his wife Dr.Vallinayaki,Rtd Prof and Consultant Radiologist and they both have been involved in renovation and maintenece of very many temples in and around his town making significant contributions in a very understated way . He was a proud father of  two sons , the elder  Dr Somesh Vanchilingam, Consultant Interventional Neurologist and younger  Dr.Karthikeyan Vanchilingam, Consultant Interventional Neuroradiologist. His family strives to take the legacy  Dr.Vanchilingam leaves behind  forward, and to celebrate him  in every sense  and believe  that would be the most fitting tribute to him.

Dr. U. Meenakshisundaram
Secretary, IAN​

Dr MR Sivakumar was a compassionate and brilliant neurologist in Chennai. He was endearingly known as MRS amongst his colleagues. MRS was a recipient of the coveted Johnson Gold Medal during his MBBS, and his streak of academic brilliance continued till his last breath. He possessed all the qualities to emulate his peers going abroad seeking better opportunities, but chose to stay amongst his roots to serve. He was a very compassionate neurologist with special interest in stroke/vascular neurology. MRS was always dreaming and planning way ahead of times to usher in   newer treatment modalities. He pioneered the use of transcranial doppler in the state as also carotid surgery under local anesthesia along with vascular surgeons. His expertise in other neurology sub specialties were no less. His other passion was rheumatology, and he was perhaps a rare breed of physician who practiced both neurology and rheumatology with elan, which endowed him a special window to naturally be an expert in neurovascular inflammatory disease. MRS always stayed updated on a daily basis, he was an ambulant encyclopedia. Despite his academic achievements he was very humble and diplomatic in his discussions, taking care not to trespass anothers’ vanity.

He was an avid academic publisher and had presented papers in more than 150 countries, both in neurology and rheumatology.

His sincerity, sense of service and vast knowledge earned him abundant goodwill in the society. MRS was a multifaceted personality. He ventured into successful enterpreunership by launching a biotechnology company, which won him an award.

MRS was a deeply spiritual and committed to following traditional practices in his connection with the almighty.

He was a loving husband and a doting father who groomed his two sons to carry forward his brilliant legacy. All the achievements of MRS could not have been possible without the support of his wife Dr Saroja Sivakumar, who steadfastly stood by his side in all his endeavors.

He tirelessly attended to his COVID patients during the ongoing pandemic and unfortunately, was infected. He fought bravely for more than 6 weeks but succumbed to the complications.

His loss has left everyone in a huge void, with so many conversations with him still unfinished. Looking back on his achievements, it looks incredible that a man could achieve so much in his lifetime.

We pray for his soul to find refuge in the Almighty, and stand by his family for all that we owe to him.

Dr. S. Yogaraj
MBBS, MD (Int. Med.), DM (Neuro.)
Chennai

Prof. K. Muthuraj Senior Neurologist, a humble and kind soul sincere and hard working. Was tirelessly serving a huge number of his patients, till his demise on 29.09.2020. Born on 09.01.1950 in a native of a small village in Chengalpattu district, after schooling, joined medicine at Stanley Medical College in 1970. Did his M.D (General medicine), D.M (Neurology) from madras medical college. Took up Tamil Nadu medical service after MBBS and had served in PHC in Chengalpattu,in Chingalpattu Medical College, at Institute of Mental Health before joining in Madras Medical College as faculty of Neurology in 1993 for a good number of 15 years he was faculty of Neurology at Madras Medical College, in which he was Professor of Neurology for 8 years (2002- 20008) . He continued as Professor of Neurology, at SRM Medical College Hospital for 10 years. since 2010 till his demise. He is survived by his wife, a daughter, a son and grandchildren. A   simple, passionate,and knowledgeable human being,let him Rest in Peace.

Prof. Dr. S. Arunan,
M.D., D.M., F.R.C.P (Glasgow)Professor and HOD,
Department of NeurologySRM Medical College and Research
InstituteKattankulathur,Chennai