A. Marthanda Pillai- MS (Neuro), MNAMS (Neuro), FRCS, is an Indian neurosurgeon. In 2011 he was the recipient of a Padma Shri

Padma Shri

Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...

 Award for medicine for the year 2010-2011. He is the first former National President and former Vice-President of the Indian Medical Association

Indian Medical Association

The Indian Medical Association , the national organization of “Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine”, was organized in 1928, and currently IMA has around 1,78,000 members belonging to different branches of medical profession and function through a network of more than 1700 local...

 in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 State to receive this national award.

When Dr. Pillai served in the government Health Service he oversaw the improvement of the neurosurgical services to one of the best at the national level. He performed thousands of brain and spinal operations at no fee to the poorest patients, saving thousands of lives.

In the private sector he is currently the Managing Director of Ananthapuri Hospitals & Research Institute in Trivandrum. He accepts only nominal fees for consultation, to remain accessible to poor patients. He is a visiting surgeon to several leading hospitals in India and abroad.