A urologist, teacher and a gentleman

CHENNAI: Longevity by itself is rarely a virtue. There have been those who have lived a full century, who have been forgotten the moment thy died. But then there are those who leave an imprint, that continues to be felt for generations. Dr A Venugopal, one of the longest practicing Urologists, who passed away last week, was one of them. Born to the illustrious Dr Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Madras on June 18, 1917, Dr Venugopal, fondly called Dr AV, was one of the pioneers of Urology in India. Having worked closely with Dr Bhat from CMC Vellore, Dr AV established the country’s first dedicated Urology department at the Madras Medical College in 1967. Dr AV was also one of the first to master laproscopic surgical procedures. Dr N Rangabashyam, one of India’s celebrated gastroentologists and a student of Dr AV, says that the man bought laproscopic instruments on his own, in the 1970s. and took classes. “His dedication was such that he always wanted to be updated.” he says. Such passion comes forth in the incidents that his son, Dr AV Harendra, shares. “Once I remember that he got a call late in the night when we were out. He immediately rushed to the clinic. There, we waited for hours in the car outside and our mother had to keep us occupied with story books,” he says.  At MMC, he only served as an honorary professor and did not take any payment. In the classroom, Dr AV was known to quote Shakesphere often, his most favorite character being Brutus. Interestingly, he always wore a suit to public gatherings.  While he had a busy academic life and practice, Dr AV still took up other responsibilities, serving in an unbelievable number of committees. His profile on the Indian Journal of Urology says he was a member of the MCI for eight years from 1975. He served as a member of the Planning Commission and Hospital Improvement Committee of TN and held various honorary posts in Universities. Though Dr AV had conducted thousands of complicated surgeries, he was  never one for publicity. Not many people know that he was one of  two doctors who operated on former CM MG Ramachandran when he sustained bullet wounds to his neck in the incident involving MR Radha. “He never told anyone because he never wanted to take advantage of his proximity to VIPs,” says Dr Rangabashyam.Even at the fag end of his life, his patients came first, “A week before he died, a patient whom he operated on 40 years ago came for consultation. He arranged every thing necessary for a surgery in the US. His life is a lesson for us all,” says his son. (Dr AV passed away on March 23 at the age of 94 following a brief illness.)