Mysore/Mysuru: The three-day 22nd Annual Conference of Orthopaedic Association of South India Surgeons (OASIS) will be inaugurated today at 5 pm at Indiana Convention Hall, Mangaluru, during which Dr. N. Nithyanand Rao of Mysuru will take over as the President of OASIS for a period of one year.

Pro-Chancellor of Nitte University Prof. M. Shantaram Shetty will be the chief guest while OASIS President Dr. Srinivasa Reddy and Secretary-General Dr. Aneen Kutty will be the guests of honour. Indian Orthopaedic Association (IOA) President Dr. Ram Chanda, Secretary-General Dr. Navin Thakkar and IGP (Western Range) Dr. K. Chandragupta will be participating in the inaugural session.

The highlight of the conference is felicitation of one Senior Surgeon from each of the six States. Dr. B.G. Sagar of Mysuru is the Senior Surgeon from Karnataka being felicitated on the occasion, while Dr. J. S. Hegde, also from Mysuru, will be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the Association and also to Orthopaedics.

Dr. Balakrishna Gowda, Dr. Seshagiri, Dr.  Vijay, Dr.  Girish Chandra and Dr. C. V. Maruthi  are also participating as faculty.

Profile: A resident of Yadavagiri in Mysuru, Dr. Nithyanand Rao excelled in MBBS in 10th rank at Kasturba Medical College (1979 – 1984).  He did MS in Orthopaedics at Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore University, from 1985 to 1988.

Dr. Rao, who has a vast experience of over three decades, started his practice in Mysuru in 1989 and was heading the Department of Orthopaedics in Basappa Memorial (BM) Hospital, till May 2009.  He also served as Post-Graduate teacher for DNB Orthopaedics at BM Hospital, besides serving as Head of Orthopaedics Department at Vikram Jeev Hospital (a unit of Vikram Hospital Pvt. Ltd) from June 2009 and as Associate Professor in Orthopaedics, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy (KSHEMA), Mangalore.

Dr. Rao also has following Fellowships to his credit: Indo-German Orthopaedic Foundation Fellowship in Knee and Hip Joint Replacement in Sindelfingen, Germany, under Prof. Gekler, 1988; Fellowship in Advance Trauma Care in Stuttgart, Germany, under Prof. Holz, 1999; Sulzer Fellowship in Joint Replacement in Total Joint Centre at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, under Dr. Kent Samuelson, 2002; AO Trauma Advances in Operative Fracture Management, Davos, Switzerland, 2008; AO Trauma Course on Pelvis and Acetabulum, Graz, Austria, 2011 and Fellowship in Pelvis and Acetabulum, HSS Hospital, New York, USA with Dr. David Helfet, 2012.

Previous roles

Dr. Nithyanand Rao has previously served as Chairperson and Co-Chairperson of AO Trauma. He was the President of Karnataka Orthopaedic Association (KOA) 2014-15. He had delivered the prestigious Prof. Varghese Chacko Oration in KOACON-2017 at Hubballi. He was Vice-President of OASIS- 2018-2021 and President-Elect OASIS 2022-2023.