Legends in Indian Orthopedics: Prof. Amulya Kumar Saha

Prof. Amulya Kumar Saha

(1913-1994)

Prof. Amulya Kumar Saha was born on January 9, 1913, at Pabna in undivided India, which is now in Bangladesh. His father was also a doctor. Dr. Saha completed his graduation in Science from Calcutta University and after that again did his graduation in medicine from R. G. Kar Medical College, Calcutta.¹ After surgical apprenticeship under the most illustrious surgeon of that time Dr. L. M. Banerjee, he voluntarily joined British Indian Army during the second world war and became a surgical specialist. He soon became major. One of his mentors was famous Mr. Philip Milchner.

After demobilization, he moved to the UK and quickly got through the fellowship examination of Royal College of Surgeons of London and Edinburgh. He also acquired M. Ch from Liverpool in 1948. His research topic for dissertation for M. Ch at Liverpool was “Theories of shoulder mechanism” which was highly acclaimed by personalities like Prof. Bryan McFarland. After that, shoulder became his prime interest.

After returning India, Saha joined as a reader in surgery at Gwalior Medical College. He later shifted to Kolkata and joined Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College as Associate Professor of surgery in 1949, from which position he rose to the post of professor and head of the department of surgery in 1955 and held the same position till 1963. Later, he was appointed as an honorary consultant orthopedic surgeon, a position he served from 1964 to 1972. Eventually, in 1972, he became emeritus professor of orthopedic surgery. Saha was also invited as “Hunterian Professor” of Royal College of Surgeons, England, where he delivered a lecture on “Zero position of shoulder joint.”

Dr. Amulya Kumar Saha, “A man with ideas and fixity of purpose,” played an instrumental role in establishing orthopedics as a distinct specialty in India. He trained and taught number of young surgeons in orthopedics. Dr. Saha was one of the founder members of orthopedic section of ASI and became its president in 1969. Indian Orthopaedic Association honored him by offering fellowship. He was an emeritus member of SICOT. He was also conferred with DSc by the Calcutta University and was recipient of COATES gold medal. He was also a fellow of World Orthopaedic Concern.

His major contribution toward orthopedics came in the field of the shoulder. He extensively studied the functional anatomy, anthropology, morphology, and radiology of shoulder and did electrophysiological studies as well. He published the monographs on the shoulder. One of those was supplement to Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica and one has been translated in the German language too. His paper on “Zero position of shoulder” was incorporated in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (CORR) as “classic” in 1983. He also studied the recurrent dislocation of the shoulder joint and worked extensively towards rehabilitating patients with paralysis of the shoulder following poliomyelitis. He described his own techniques for recurrent dislocation shoulder.

His other interests were surgery in postpolio residual paralysis, and he described “Saha's technique” of trapezius transfer for flail shoulder based on the concept of dynamic stability of the shoulder. He also described several muscle transfers to restore muscle power around hip. He worked on shoulder replacement. Spine surgery was also one of his special interests.

At the height of his career and achievement, Dr. Saha suffered a cerebral stroke in 1961, which left him with hemiplegia of the right side. In spite of this blow, he made a comeback and continued as a teacher and surgeon. In his eighties, he extensively toured the world as a visiting lecturer to different universities and delivered guest lectures at American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). He suddenly passed away on July 6, 1994, peacefully at his residence. He left behind his wife and two daughters. West Bengal Orthopaedic Association introduced A. K. Saha oration in his honor in 1993 and is still continued as A. K. Saha Memorial Oration in deep appreciation of his contribution to orthopedics.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.