The Most Proficient Surgeons to Watch 2019 The Most Proficient Surgeons to Watch 2019-SMALL | Page 21

The Most
Proficient Surgeons
to Watch 2019
“
S
urgery overall is a very
interesting field. It’s my passion.
Whether you do open surgery,
Laparoscopy or Robotic surgery, the
basic principles of surgery remain the
same and need to be followed strictly
to achieve good outcomes for
patients,” are the views of a renowned
Surgical Gastroenterologist, Dr.
Deepak Govil, who has over 30 years
of experience as a Surgeon, he is
currently working with Indraprastha
Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
Dr. Deepak was fascinated since
childhood to see the prefix ‘Dr.’ before
his name. Speaking of his motivation
to become a doctor he says, “Also this
being one of the most respected
professions has always impressed me.
Coming from a simple family, my
parents wanted me to become a
Doctor.”
His parents never let the limited
resources stand in the way of providing
him the highest of education and made
lot of sacrifices for his education. “I
sincerely wanted to fulfill their dreams
and worked very hard to get into
medicine.” he says.
Dr. Deepak’s elder sister was admitted
to MBBS at the Lady Harding Medical
College, which along with his parent’s
motivation was the driving force and a
strong factor in his becoming a Doctor.
Reminiscing old memories he asserts,
“I can never forget the expression of
happiness and satisfaction on my
mother’s face when I got the selection
letter from AIIMS for MBBS entrance.”
Inspiring Journey of Dr. Deeepak
Govil
His journey as a medical student began
with getting admission into AIIMS.
Here he completed his MBBS, “It was
a great experience” he says. Working
alongside some of the greatest
surgeons of that time Dr. Deepak
thoroughly enjoyed his training at the
AIIMS. Speaking of his memories he
asserts, “I was always impressed by the
great Surgeons at the AIIMS, namely
Prof. Atam Prakash, Prof. I.K.
Dhawan, Prof. BML Kapur and Prof.
S. Nundy.”
He has a strong belief that surgery is
all about learning and nurturing skills
to remove the disease and ailments of a
person, and not mere prescription of
medication. He says the compliments
and blessing of the patients are his
most treasured ‘assets’.
Earning the prestige of being an expert
in GI surgery didn’t come easy, many
years of hard work went into
developing this skill, “I was fortunate
to work in the unit mainly
concentrating on GI Surgery during my
MS (Surgery). There I learnt the value
of discipline and hard work in Surgery.
There were 2-3 days continuously when
we were in the OT on 8 th floor at AIIMS
and used to watch Delhi from the
glasses of that floor and worked just on
and on.” here he was exposed to all
major surgical procedures.
Then he moved on to join Dr. Ram
Manohar Lohia Hospital, where he
learnt the importance of simple
surgical procedures. “I learnt from Dr.
KN Shriwastav that no procedure is a
minor procedure. One should not take
any procedure lightly and do every
procedure with same patience and
meticulous technique.” Within few
years Dr. Deepak decided to move
further.
Around this time he got married and
speaking of his wife, he asserts, “I am
very grateful to my wife, who sacrificed
her career for me to progress and fulfill
my ambitions. She looked after the kids
and family and kept me carefree from
this aspect.”
His Piece of Advice to Medical Students
“Hard work has no substitute- I think this applies to surgery
more than anything else. I can remember that during my PhD
there were days together when I did not come back home. My
children used to behave so differently when I was home. I
think it is the sacrices of my family along with hard work and
passion for surgery which has made me come so far,” asserts
Dr. Deepak.
“For Students I will say that try to identify areas which interest
you most and then focus on the same areas and keep
improvising and auditing your work. Always keep thinking
ahead and keep pushing your boundaries while doing
surgery. Also important is to develop a good and dedicated
team and take them along for good patient care,” Dr.
Deepak concludes.
| March 2019 |
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