U.K., U.S. trained doctor receives Padma Shri Award

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Despite facing several odds all through medical school, Gujarat resident Dr. Devendra Patel has come a long way.

From a middle class farming community of Bhadran to medical school and then further studies in the U.K. and a job in the U.S., Patel has indeed come a long way.

Recognizing his contributions in the field of onclogy, Patel, 84, was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.

After completing his MS from Gujarat University in 1959, Patel went to the UK in 1960 with a Fellowship to the Royal College of Surgeons and got a FRCS dgree from England. He then came to the U.S. and worked as a Senior Surgical Fellow at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, Mass., for two years.

He returned to Ahmedabad in 1966 and joined the M.P. Shah Cancer Hospital in May 1966. He worked at the hospital till 2003, rising through the ranks and helming various positions including chief surgical oncologist, deputy director and director of the institute. During his service, Patel performed more than 30,000 procedures. During his period he published about 130 scientific papers and attended several conferences and panel discussions and symposiums both nationally and internationally.