R. Marthanda Varma

This article is about an Indian neurosurgeon. For other uses, see Marthanda Varma (disambiguation).

R. Marthanda Varma
Born	Mavelikkara, Kerala, India
Died	10 March 2015 Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Occupation	Neurosurgeon
Known for	Varma's Technique (Neurosurgical procedure)
Spouse	Malathi
Children	Two sons
Parent	Aswathynnal Kutty Amma Thampuran
Awards	Padma Shri Rajyotsava Prashasti IASSMD Distinguished Achievement Award Citizen Extraordinary of Bangalore Award Sir Visvesvaraya Award

Ravivarma Marthanda Varma was an Indian neurosurgeon, one of the pioneers of Indian neurosurgery and the founder director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). ^[1] He was the originator of a new surgical procedure for treating Parkinson's disease ^[2] which later came to be known as Varma's Technique. ^[3] He was a former Deputy Director General of Health Services, Government of India and an honorary surgeon to R. Venkataraman, former president of India. ^[4] He was honoured by the Government of India in 1972 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award. ^[5]

Biography

Marthanda Varma was born in the Royal family of Mavelikkara ^{[6] [7]} which had close family connections with the Travancore royal family, his mother, Aswathynaal Kutty Amma Thampuran, was the sister of the then Maharani of Travancore. ^[8] After graduating in medicine, he did master's course at the University of Bristol ^[9] and completed the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, becoming one of the first five neurosurgeons of India. ^{[6] [10]} He returned to India in 1958 and joined the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH), a mental hospital based in Bangalore, Karnataka. ^[6] as the professor of neurosurgery. ^[1] He became the director of the institution in 1969 and held the post until 1974. ^[1]

When the All India Institute of Mental Health was reconstituted as the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences with the participation from the state and central governments in 1974, Varma was chosen as its founder director, a post he retained until 1977. ^[1] In 1977, he was appointed as the deputy director of Health Services by the Government of India for a one-year term. ^[1] He returned to NIMHANS in 1978 and served as the director until his superannuation in 1979. ^[1] He also served as the dean of the faculty of mental health and neurosciences of Bangalore University, as the advisor to the government of India on mental health and neurosurgery and as the honorary surgeon to R. Venkataraman, former President of India. ^[4]

Varma was credited with research on Parkinson's disease and was known to have developed a minimally invasive technique for the control of the disease, the procedure now known as Varma's Technique. ^[9] The procedure, first introduced in 1963 by Varma, involved accessing the subthaamic nucleaus in brain through foramen ovale using syringes ^[11] with the whole procedure lasting less than 20 minutes. ^[12] He presented a paper on the technique at the international conference of Neurosurgeons at Copenhagen in 1965. ^[9] He presented more than 40 medical papers in medical conferences and was credited with the publication ^[2] of over 20 articles. ^[3]

Marthanda Varma was married to Malathi, a lecturer at APS college and the couple had two sons. ^[12] The elder is Ravi Gopal Varma, also a neurosurgeon and the younger is Shashi Gopal Varma. He died on 10 March 2015 at M. S. Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bangalore, at the age of 93, ^[13] succumbing to age related illnesses. ^{[14] [15]}

Varma also mentored many private hospitals in Bangalore, such as Mallige Medical Centre, Manipal Hospital, and MS Ramaiah Hospital. He was also an independent director at Mallige Medical Centre. ^[16]

Varma, an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, ^[17] received the Rajyotsava Prashasti from the government of Karnataka in 1969. ^[1] The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1972 ^[5] and he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the World Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency (IASSMD) in 1982. ^[3] He was also a recipient of the Citizen Extraordinary of Bangalore Award in 1967 ^[3] and the Sir Visvesvaraya Award in 1998. ^[1] The Neurological Society of Bangalore has instituted an annual oration award in his honour. ^[3] He remained the Professor Emeritus of NIMHANS after his retirement until his death. ^[3] He is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust. ^[18]

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References

1. "Dr. R Martanda Varma". NIMHANS. 2015. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
2. Andres M. Lozano; Philip L. Gildenberg; Ronald R. Taske (2015). Textbook of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Volume 1. Springer. ISBN   9783540699590 . Retrieved 3 June 2015.
3. "Man over mind". The Hindu . 27 March 2003. Archived from the original on 7 May 2003. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
4. "R Marthanda Varma, Founder Director of NIMHANS, Dies at 93". Mangalorean. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
5. "Padma Shri" (PDF). Padma Shri. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
6. "Padmashree Dr Raja Marthanda Varma Passed Away". E Varta. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
7. "Renowned Neurosurgeon R Marthanda Varma Dies at 93 in Bengaluru". ND TV. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
8. "The Third Princess". Inorite. 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
9. "Dr R M Varma". Talent Kerala. 28 June 2002. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
10. "Renowned neurosurgeon Varma dies". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
11. UdayMuthane (May 2008). "Movement Disorders in India" (PDF). Advances in Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation. 8 (2): 22–23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
12. "NIMHANS Founder Director Varma No More". Indian Express. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
13. "Dr R Marthanda Varma passes away". Mathrubhumi. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
14. "NIMHANS' founder Dr. R Marthanda Varma passes away". The Gulf Indian. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
15. "Dr R Marthanda Varma, Pioneer in Neuroscience, Passed Away". Med India. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
16. "View Director Master Data DIN:00886787". Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
17. "List of Fellows - NAMS" (PDF). National Academy of Medical Sciences. 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
18. "Madras Neuro Trust". Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.

Further reading

• Ron Levy; Anthony E. Lang; Jonathan O. Dostrovsky; Peter Pahapill; John Romas; Jean Saint-Cyr; William D. Hutchison; Andres M. Lozano (2001). "Lidocaine and muscimol microinjections in subthalamic nucleus reverse parkinsonian symptoms". Brain. 124 (10): 2105–2118. doi: 10.1093/brain/124.10.2105 . PMID   11571226.
• UdayMuthane (May 2008). "Movement Disorders in India". Advances in Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation. 8 (2): 22–23.
• Andres M. Lozano; Philip L. Gildenberg; Ronald R. Taske (2015). "Textbook of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Volume 1". Springer.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
• Muthane UB, Varma RB, Sundararaj P (1998). "Percutaneous trans-foramen ovale approach to subthalamic nucleaus (Varma's technique)". Mov Disord. 13 (71).