The UAE is blessed with dedicated healthcare workers including doctors and nurses. One such physicians Dr Satish Krishnan, an Indian neurosurgeon at Al Qasimi Hospital (AQH) in Sharjah.
From the Excellence Award given by the AQH administration in 2011 to the Outstanding Employee of the Month Award in January 2023, Dr Satish Krishnan’s professional life is one of accolades and recognitions. He was nominated as a member of the Emirati Board of Neurosurgery for his contributions to the UAE. Thrice, he received a certificate of appreciation from HE Dr Mohammed Al Olama, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention.
The eminent doctor has devoted his life and services to the welfare of people in the UAE to such an extent that he received the 2021 Gershom Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by the Gershom Foundation in Azerbaijan for his contributions to neurosciences.
A miraculous intervention from the good doctor was the revival of a 11-year-old Arab boy who was in a comatose state for seven months following a horrific road accident. The case was considered hopeless owing to the seriousness of the brain injuries, but after three months in ICU and three surgeries at Al Qasimi Hospital the boy came back to life.
In 2012, Dr Satish Krishnan and his team removed a tumour that was the size of an orange on the head of an eight-year-old boy whose parents had no insurance or means to cover the cost of surgery. At no cost to the expat Bangladeshi family, the hospital arranged the lifesaving operation quickly under a Ministry of Health policy.
In 2013, he and his team performed a potentially dangerous surgery on the brain of a pregnant Indian woman who had suffered brain haemorrhage. She lived to see the birth of her son four months later and, despite difficulties in speech, is happy to have overcome a fatal or debilitating condition. Indian expat Rao was yet another beneficiary of Dr Satish Krishnan’s expertise on the operation table where he was treated for a blood clot and his huge medical bill waived by the hospital.
Personal life. Dr Satish Krishnan completed his education mostly in Calcutta, where his parents were based. He passed his MBBS from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta in 1984, MCH in Neurosurgery from Sri Chitra Hospital, Kerala and DNB in Neurosurgery from Delhi. He has also done a fellowship in Neuro vascular surgery.
He first came to the UAE in 1996 but left for India in 2000. He was invited by the hospital and Health ministry to set up the department of neurosciences. He came again in 2010, and the same year he got an excellence award for his services.
He strongly believes that a doctor should be a friend, philosopher and guide. Meeting Mother Teresa during his childhood in Calcutta highly inspired him. He says his biggest satisfaction is when he does something for people who have nobody. “I work on the brain but when you touch the heart of patients, you become a true doctor,” says the doctor who believes he only treats while God cures.
A native of Perunna, Changanacherry, Dr Krishnan is the grandson of S.MadhavaKurup Vaidyan, a gold medallist from Ayurveda College and the physician of Mannath Padmanabhan, the founder of Nair Service Society. His father Krishnan Nair was an engineer at the Ordinance Factory in Calcutta while his mother Sulochana was a homemaker.
He enjoys listening to music, playing badminton and conducting quiz. His wife Prema is a teacher.