Indian doctors: Hall of fame - Part 5: Dr Naresh Kumar Trehan, cardiologist

By Syed Akbar
A pioneer in the field of coronary artery bypass surgery, Dr Naresh Kumar Trehan has performed about 50,000 open heart surgeries. Today he is regarded as the king of open heart surgeries, including end stages
cases, in India. His reputation extends beyond national boundaries to the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
Soft spoken and simple-looking Dr Naresh Trehan held important academic and clinical positions in the New York University Medical Centre, Bellevue Hospital, New York, and Veterans Administration Hospital, Manhattan, USA.

He is famous world-wide for perfecting the art of minimally invasive robotically controlled cardiac surgery. Dr Naresh Trehan has operated upon thousands of VVIPs and business tycoons. To him also goes the credit of performing more than 10,000 beating heart surgeries, which even expert doctors in the USA and the UK, think twice before doing it.
Hailing from Punjab, Dr Naresh Trehan feels that Punjabis are perhaps the best suited for cardiac operations. "We Punjabis have the power to withstand the trauma of heart surgery. It is a risky proposition," he says. Incidentally, Punjab is one of the three States in the country with high risk of heart ailments.
While many Indian doctors prefer to stay abroad for professional reasons, Dr Naresh Trehan returned to India in 1988, despite a successful career in United States. He started Escorts Heart Institute  and Research Centre, which in a short span of time became an important landmark the world over in cardiac surgery and cardiology.
Dr Naresh Trehan shows keen interest in research and education. He has to his credit a number of research works presented at international medical meets in about a dozen countries.