13 Facts About Ramakanta Panda

Ramakanta Panda, MCh, is the chief consultant for cardiovascular thoracic surgery and the group CEO of the Asian Heart Institute, a speciality cardiac care hospital under the aegis of Asian Hospitals, at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, India.

Ramakanta Panda was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2010 by the government of India.

Ramakanta Panda would walk 7 km every day to school.

Ramakanta Panda proceeded to do a post-graduation in surgery and heart surgery between 1980 and 1985 at AIIMS, and then to Cleveland Clinic, USA for his fellowship.

Ramakanta Panda has trained under cardiac surgeons like Floyd Loop and transplant specialist Magdi Yacoub, at Harefield Hospital in the UK.

Ramakanta Panda is credited and recognized among his peers as one of the first in India to introduce "total arterial revascularization", as well as being one of the pioneers of "off-pump" bypass surgery, redo bypass surgery and high-risk surgeries.

Ramakanta Panda has performed a number of high-profile cardiac surgeries on members of the Indian government.

In January 2009, Ramakanta Panda led the AHI team that operated on Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister of India.

In January 2014, Panda operated on D Raja, a leader of the Communist Party of India In June 2014 he operated on Odisha Congress leader and former minister Narasingha Mishra.

Ramakanta Panda has performed many successful cardiac surgeries that are widely recognised to have been extremely complex and challenging.

The most recent one was on 56-year-old Omani citizen Qassin Nasser Sultan Alriyani, who was gifted a second lease of life when Dr Ramakanta Panda performed six life saving procedures at a go on his heart.

In January 2010, Ramakanta Panda was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India by Pratibha Patil, the president of India.

Ramakanta Panda has been conferred with a degree of doctorate in science from Utkal University, Orissa and Utkal Ratna by the Oriya Sahitya Samaj.