Indian heart surgeon
In this Indian name, the name Kotturathu Mammen is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Cherian.
Kotturathu Mammen Cherian[1][2] (born 8 March 1942[3]), is an Indian heart surgeon. He performed India's first coronary artery bypass surgery and first heart Lung transplant. and is considered a pioneer of pediatriccardiac surgery in the country. He is also a former honorary surgeon to the President of India and a Padma Shri awardee.
Born to Mammen of the Kotturathu house in Kayamkulam, Kerala. Cherian started his career in Christian Medical College, in Vellore as lecturer in Surgery. In 1970, he migrated to Australia. He did his FRACS in Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1973. He also worked in New Zealand and was a migrant to the United States.
After his studies, he got the splendid opportunity to work as a Special Fellow in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in Birmingham, Alabama under Dr. John W. Kirklin and in the University of Oregon under Dr. Albert Starr. On his birthday, 50 years ago, he got the most special birthday gift from his mentors in Australia where he performed his first open heart surgery at the age of 26.
As a young migrant in Australia, he had the opportunity to work at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
He attended Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.[4] He performed India's first coronary artery bypass surgery in 1975 at Southern Railway Headquarters hospital, Perambur, Chennai.[5] He is the founder of Frontier Lifeline Hospital, where he performed India's second heart transplant surgery in 1995.[4] He also performed the country's first heart-lung transplant and the country's first pediatric cardiac surgery.[5]
He was the Founding Vice President and Director of Madras Medical Mission (MMM), Founding Chairman of Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences(PIMS). He is the Founder Chairman of Frontier Lifeline Hospital and Frontier Mediville, the first Medical SEZ and Medical Science Park in India. His Charitable Trust has built the St.Gregorios Cardio Vascular Centre, at Parumala, in Kerala and his Educational Trust runs the International CBSE School named “The Study – L’ecole Internationale” in Puducherry.
He and several other investors set up a hospital in Chengannur, Kerala. It was inaugurated in March 2021. It sits on a 5-acre plot. The name of the hospital is Dr K. M. Cherian institute of medical sciences. [13]
A biography about Cherian titled Hand of God was released in 2015 was written by Priya M. Menon.[4]