Eminent Cardiothoracic surgeon Vivek Jawali was conferred the prestigious Dr. P.S. Shankar Vaidyashree National Award at a function to mark the 15th Anniversary of the Dr. P.S. Shankar Pratishtan in Kalaburagi city on Thursday.
The award was presented to Dr. Jawali by eminent environmentalist and popular science writer Nagesh Hegde, along with other dignitaries including noted physician and medical teacher P.S. Shankar, secretary of the pratishtan S.S. Hiremath, vice-president Veerabhadrappa, joint secretary M. Sadanand and others at the Doddappa Appa Auditorium in the city.
Glowing tributes were paid to Dr. Jawali for achieving many firsts as a cardiothoracic surgeon, including being the pioneer in introducing Minimally Invasive Director Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (MIDCABS) in India and for performing the first bypass surgery on a fully conscious patient without general anaesthesia or ventilator, using the technique of continuous high thoracic epidural analgesia.
Dr. Jawali, who is an alumni of the Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College, had also performed the first awake open heart surgery in July 2002 replacing aortic valve with triple bypass on a 74-year-old patient.
He is also the recipient of the prestigious Dr. B.C. Roy award for medical excellence, Karnataka Rajyotsava Award and Harvard University Lifetime Achievement Award for Medical Excellence in India. Dr. Javali had played a crucial role in founding two premier heart institutes Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology and Fortis Hospital and Heart Institute in Bangalore.
The award instituted by the Dr. P.S. Shankar Pratishtan carries a cash award of Rs. 10,000, a plaque, and a commendation certificate. The pratishtan, every year, presents the Vaidyashree National Award to medical professionals recognising their contribution to the field.
Mr. Hegde also presented the Shreshta Vaidya Sahitya Prashashthi award to senior gynaecologist Leelavathi Devadass for her book in Kannada “Namma Kayyalli Namma Arogya”. The award carried a cash prize of Rs. 5,000, a commendation certificate and a plaque.
Four MBBS first year students Yogeshwari Chandrasekhar, K. Avinash, Akash Talikote and Vinutha Kandakal studying in different medical colleges in the State, who were selected to receive the Dr. P.S. Shankar Pratishtan scholarship of Rs. 1,000 each for the period of their entire course, were given the cheques. Dr. Jawali delivered a lecture on heart diseases.
