KATHMANDU, OCT 09 -
Dr Anjani Kumar Sharma
, Nepal’s first surgeon and a pioneer in the field of cancer care, died
on Tuesday night at his residence in Mitrapark, Chabahil. He was 86.
His son Dr Sunil Sharma confirmed his death due to lower uretar cancer.
Dr Anajani Kumar, also known as Dr AK Sharma amongst his peers, played a
crucial role in the advancement of surgery in Nepal, and led the
surgery departments of two prominent government hospitals-- Bir Hospital
and Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, for over three decades.
He is mostly remembered for his unwavering efforts and campaigns to ban
tobacco products and raise taxes to curb their use, which he continued
until his last moment of his life.
He also played a leading role in the establishment of Bhaktapur Cancer
Hospital, governed by the Nepal Cancer Relief Society (NCRS) where he
also served as the founding vice president for seven years. Besides his
lifelong crusade against tobacco and cancer, he also authored a number
of books, including Cancer Chetana, a layman’s guide to cancer.
Initially, Dr Anjani Kumar ran a day-care service with 15 beds at the
Bhakatpur Cancer Hospital. Today, the hospital has emerged as the
premier cancer care centre of Nepal.
“He was our guardian,” said Lokendra Shrestha, president of NCRS. “He
never accepted any salary from the hospital. We used to pay him token
allowance.”
Born on June 7, 1928 at Bhaluwahi in Siraha district, Dr Anjani Kumar
wanted to enter the medical field since his early days. The death of
his mother due to lack of proper medical attention hardened his
determination. He completed his MBBS in Calcutta Medical College in 1955
and pursued a course at Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons
before returning to Nepal as the first surgeon of the country.
In 1962, Dr Anjani Kumar established and led the surgery department at
Bir Hospital. His colleague, Dr Dinesh Raj Gongol, joined him months
later. The two doctors are credited for introducing modern surgery in
Nepal. During the 1960s, Nepal had a few MBBS doctors, let alone a
qualified surgeon. Dr AKS and Dr Gongol were among the first doctors in
the country to conduct surgery. Occasionally, doctors from India used to
visit the hospital to perform complex surgeries.
During that period people who needed surgery would seek medical
attention very late and often times they were left to die due to
unavailability of treatment, remembered Dr Sudip Kumar Bhattacharya, who
worked with Dr Anjani Kumar for over two decades. “Dr Anjani Kumar and
his team helped people get better health access at their homes. He is
indeed the father of modern surgery,” said Dr Bhattacharya.
Friends and family describe Dr Anjani Kumar as an effusive person who
had a good sense of humour and a sharp repartee. His family friends
remember one incident where he had introduced his son Dr Sunil, who had
just returned to Nepal after completing his MBBS in Madras at the time,
to a group of professors from the UK as a “mockery of medical
profession”.
“Everyone laughed in the room with that introduction,” remembered Dr
Sunil, who is currently a surgeon at Kathmandu Medical College. In the
peak of his career, Dr Anjani Kumar was close to both BP Koirala and
King Birendra Shah. He was a royal surgeon and, at the same time,
friends with Koirala, who was then seen as a political dissident. He had
to take the king’s permission to see Koirala,
“Dr Anjani Kumar was an icon in the field of Nepal’s medical field. He
was a great individual, personally and professionally. He helped shape
professional career of many young surgeons. He must have been a role
model for many of them,” said Dr. Shishir Lakhey, professor of
Orthopaedic Surgery at KMC, who worked as house officer under Dr Anjani
Kumar at TUTH in 1990.
Dr Anjani Kumar is also among first people to run private hospital in
the country. He opened Annapurna Nursing Home in circa 1971 at
Baghbazaar. During his years in private practice, he was often
criticised for being “money-minded” and spending more hours treating
patients at his private clinic. But many of his juniors and colleagues
refute these claims. They said he was available round the clock to
observe patients admitted in government hospitals as well.
He is survived by his wife Annapurna, a daughter and two sons.
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