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Professor George A. Anderson

By Dr. Binu P. Thomas, MBBS, DOrth, MS Orth, FIMSA

My role model in Hand Surgery is my teacher, mentor, and former colleague, Professor George A. Anderson, MBBS, MS Orth, MNAMS, MCh Orth L’Pool, FRCS Eng, FACS. My earliest rendezvous with Prof Anderson was in 1992 after hearing him deliver a lecture at one of the National Orthopaedic meetings on “Brachial Plexus Injuries — Primary and Secondary Surgical Management.” I was very impressed by his rendition insomuch that I decided then and there to pursue Hand Surgery and Peripheral Nerve Surgery after my Orthopaedic training. I joined Prof Anderson as a junior colleague in 1994 at the Dr. Paul Brand Centre for Hand Surgery at the Christian Medical College (CMC) and Hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. This center was established by Dr. Paul W. Brand in 1948 and there he pioneered Hand Reconstruction and rehabilitation in the Leprosy disabled. Thus was started the first Hand Surgery department in the country at CMC Vellore, followed in quick succession by the affiliation of the first Hand therapy and Hand Rehabilitation centers.  

Prof Anderson joined the department in 1981 and initiated the transformation of this center devoted largely to Leprosy Reconstruction and rehabilitation to one that was inclusive for the management of the gamut of Hand and Peripheral Nerve Surgery conditions. Global care of the injured and mutilated hands so rife in the early post independent industrialization years, staged management of congenital hand deficiencies and deformities, Hand tumor surgery, Wrist dysfunctions, comprehensive management in the care of established ischaemic conditions of the forearm and hand and most other dysfunctions of the hand and peripheral nerves. He pioneered Brachial Plexus Surgery in India following his training in 1990 under Hanno Millesi in Vienna, Austria. By 2004, he had operated well over 1000 patients with adult and obstetric brachial plexus paralysis. His surgical skills are legendary among his colleagues. He is a meticulous surgeon with an extraordinary eye for detail and would not accept anything less than perfection. He is also arguably the best clinician I’ve known and all his colleagues and trainees were always impressed by his clinical acumen. We all found him a hard taskmaster and this helped us to sharpen our clinical and surgical skills under his tutelage.

He has a number of publications and textbook chapters to his credit. His chapter on Ulnar Nerve Palsy in the 5th edition of Green’s Textbook of Operative Hand Surgery stands out as a very descriptive work showcasing his artistic skills. The diagrams in that chapter were all actually hand drawn by him and later nuanced by the textbook’s official illustrator. He was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons for his excellence in the field of Hand Surgery. He superannuated from CMC Vellore in 2010 and continues to work as a Hand and Peripheral Nerve surgical consultant in a metropolis center within India in addition to visiting the Dr. Paul Brand Centre for Hand Surgery, CMC Vellore as and when events in the institution beckon him here.

Dr. Binu P. Thomas, MBBS, DOrth, MS Orth, FIMSA
Prof & Head
Paul Brand Centre for Hand Surgery
Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore,
Tamil Nadu, India

Comments (4)
Dr Chaitanya Dodakundi
September 13, 2019 3:06 am

Very nicely written by Prof Binu. It is a fitting description for a mentor – Dr George Anderson who has inspired many young hand surgeons.Wish him good health and success in all his endeavors

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Thomas Pulimood
September 21, 2019 3:08 pm

A gracious account of the work of a great surgeon by another excellent surgeon and clinician if I may say.

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Anton Job Romesh Prasad
October 8, 2019 10:30 am

His clinical skills and knowledge of anatomy was not just limited to the hand. It was amazing when during surgery he will ask a photo to be taken because the anatomy he has just dissected was not described but a new variation., Such was his knowledge. However being a task master, if one didn’t get a chiding during surgery, assisting him, then one can be considered worthy surgeon.
The importance of Documentation. Nd even drawing the anatomy that ine sees in the OT notes is a worthy trait i learnt under him.
During surgery occasionally i just stop to ponder the fact that I imitate him during a procedure or step makes sure that part oh him will forever be with all those he trained.

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Sreekanth Raveendran
October 11, 2019 9:31 am

Prof Thomas has written a befitting account about this Hand Surgery genius. I first met Prof. Anderson in a conference during my orthopaedic residency. I was fascinated by his academic knowledge, clinical understanding, and his ability to conceptualise and teach various complex ideas in Hand Surgery. Later I had the honour to be his Hand Fellow and learn his thought process through which he solves complicated cases with simple methods.

I have learned from him that a surgeon is a differential decision-maker who has to take critical decisions in every step of the surgery, and these micro-decisions could have a profound effect on the outcome and patient satisfaction. His idea that the patients are our best teachers still echoes in my mind whenever I see a patient. He often says that since God has not labelled structures in the body, a good surgeon must first be an excellent anatomist who can find subtle variations to master the art of surgery.

I am blessed to have a guru like him, and I thank him for his care and affection.

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