Dr. Thanjavur Santhanakrishna Kanaka

Asia’s first and the world’s fifth fully qualified female neurosurgeon, Dr. Thanjavur Santhanakrishna Kanaka, was born in 1932 at Madras in India. Widely known as T. S. Kanaka, she was among the few women to enter medical school in the late 1940s. At Madras Medical College, her interest in neurosurgery was developed by Dr. B. Ramamurthi (1922–2003), head of one of the earliest departments of neurosurgery in India.

Completing MBBS studies in 1954, Kanaka spent several years trying to qualify for the general surgery residency entrance examination due to the significant bias of examiners against women. After she was selected, her chief resident would deny her autonomy in managing cases and operative training. Passing out of residency was even more difficult, given the discrimination against females in the residency exit examination. She passed on her sixth attempt, earning the degree of MS (surgery).

The road ahead was easier, as Kanaka then found a willing mentor in Dr. B. Ramamurthi for MS (neurosurgery). He devotedly taught Kanaka, gave her autonomy, and helped her flourish. Completing neurosurgical training under him in 1968, she then pursued a PhD in stereotactic neurosurgery. She finished her thesis on the surgical management of cerebral palsy in 1972 at the age of 40 years. The same year saw the start of the Madras Institute of Neurology (MIN), a center of excellence in neurosciences.[1](https://thejns.org/focus/view/journals/neurosurg-focus/50/3/article-pE19.xml#b1) Joining MIN as a consultant, Kanaka found the atmosphere to excel both inside and outside of the operating room, working with progressive-minded and academically productive colleagues. Together, they carried out the first surgeries in India for epilepsy, behavioral and psychiatric disorders, tremors, and spasticity, leading to Madras becoming the birthplace and the leader of functional neurosurgery in India.

Early in her life, she had decided to not marry, choosing to devote her time solely to patient care, research, and training. Postresidency, she was well renowned to almost live in the hospital throughout her career. She refused to join private practice despite several lucrative offers, even from overseas, and continued services at MIN at a meager salary.

Her pioneering research works described management of cerebral palsy, combined ablative lesions for spasticity, hypothalamotomy for juvenile aggression, bilateral cingulumotomy for drug addiction, limbic lesioning for epilepsy, electrophysiological studies during sedative neurosurgery, cerebellar stimulation for spasticity, and more. She was the first in India to perform chronic electrode implantation for deep brain stimulation (DBS) and worked on developing low-cost DBS systems for decades. She earned several awards and guest lecture invitations from numerous organizations worldwide, including the Walter Dandy Neurosurgical Society. Under her guidance, the Asian Women’s Neurosurgical Association and the WINSI (Women in Neurosurgery in India) forum were established.

Kanaka retired from MIN in 1990. She used her life savings to establish the Sri Santhanakrishna Padmavathy Health Care and Research Foundation, a center where she provided free consultation for common medical problems and free laboratory investigations for the elderly and the poor. She passed away at the age of 86 in 2018, having continued her nonprofit work until her last days.[14](https://thejns.org/focus/view/journals/neurosurg-focus/50/3/article-pE19.xml#b14) It is the selfless dedication of T. S. Kanaka toward her patients and her trainees that made her legacy everlasting.