Padma Shri awardee orthopaedic surgeon S.V. Adinarayana Rao passes away
Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao, the Indian orthopaedic surgeon celebrated for decades of work restoring mobility and dignity to polio survivors and people with disabilities, has died. He passed away on Saturday evening, 17 January. He was 85.
Often described by patients as a rare blend of medical brilliance and personal warmth, Adinarayana Rao became a household name among families seeking treatment for polio-related and other deformities. Many traveled hundreds of kilometers to reach him in Visakhapatnam, while others came from as far as the United States and Canada, drawn by his reputation for complex corrective surgery and an unusually compassionate bedside manner.
Born on 30 June 1939 in Bhimavaram, in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district, he attended U.L.C.M. High School before studying medicine at Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam. He completed his MBBS in 1966 and his master’s in orthopedics in 1970.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, Adinarayana Rao performed an extraordinary volume of work, with colleagues and hospital records crediting him with about 300,000 surgeries and more than a million operative procedures. Much of this was carried out for poor and marginalised patients, many of whom were treated free of charge through outreach camps organised across India.
He founded and served as managing trustee of Prema Hospitals in Visakhapatnam, which became closely associated with free corrective operations for polio-affected children and adults. The surgeon’s impact, however, extended beyond the operating theatre: patients widely recalled his ability to reassure families, and his refusal to treat disability as a limitation of life. Many referred to him affectionately as Vikalang Bandhu (friend of the disabled) and Poliowalon ka Devata (god of polio patients).
His contributions were formally recognised in January 2022 when he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours, for his service to the poor and to disability welfare.
Adinarayana Rao also held several senior academic and administrative roles, including as professor of traumatology and orthopaedics at Andhra Medical College, and as professor and superintendent at the R.C.D. hospital and rehabilitation centre for the disabled in Visakhapatnam. He later served as the director general of Prema Hospitals.
Among numerous honours, he received the Government of India’s National Award for best service in the field of welfare of the disabled (1998), presented by the then prime minister, as well as the Diwaliben Mohanlal Mehta award and the Bhagawan Mahaveer International award in 2002.
He is survived by his wife, R. Sasiprabha, a gynaecologist and former director of medical education in Andhra Pradesh; their daughter, Dr Sesh Kamal; and son, Sasi Kiran, both of whom live in the United Kingdom.