Coimbatore doctor takes over presidency of International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand

Dr. S. Raja Sabapathy becomes first Indian president of IFSSH, leading global hand surgery organization towards quality care.

S. Raja Sabapathy, Chairman, Department of Plastic, Hand and Microsurgery and Director of Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, took over the presidentship of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH) on March 28, at the closing ceremony of the triennial congress of the federation at Washington DC, the U.S.

IFSSH is a federation of 62-member nations and is the world’s largest body of hand surgeons. It was formed in 1966 to coordinate the activities of the various Societies for Surgery of the Hand across the globe, and to spread knowledge of surgery of the hand and holds congresses once every three years to discuss the latest advances and lay out the best practices. In its 59-year-old history, this is the first time an Indian surgeon has taken over the presidency of the organisation. 

Accepting the honour, in his address to the delegates on taking over as president, Dr. Raja Sabapathy said the theme of the term would be to help ‘provide quality hand surgery care to the millions who are less privileged’. In his role, he is responsible for steering the organisation toward achieving its goals. An executive committee of representatives from the U.S., UK, China, Japan, Belgium, Columbia and Ecuador will assist him.