Raj Palaniappan, MS MMAS DMAS FMBS FRS FARIS FMAS FALS

Dr. Raj is a very well known bariatric (obesity) surgeon from India with distinction of performing almost all types of laparoscopic surgeries described in world literature. He graduated in 1996 from south India and completed his post-graduation in surgery by the year 2000. He did super-specialisation in Laparoscopy in the UK and is one of the very few qualified masters degree holder in Minimal Access Surgery. He worked under the doyens of laparoscopic and bariatric surgery in the UK, and completed his Surgical Gastroenterology and Robotic fellowships from USA. He worked in various teaching institutes & corporate hospitals in different parts before joining as the director and lead surgeon in Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. He has special interest in Single Incision & Robotic Surgery and a leading specialist in those fields having performed the first SILS & Robotic Bariatric Surgeries in India. He trains surgeons in the filed of bariatric and minimal access surgery through his trust “Bariatric & Robortic Surgery (BAROS)” which also runs his surgical speciality services at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. He recently has started a foundation “Reclaim Life” to create awareness about obesity and its comorbidities and educate the society about the benefits of lifestyle modifications.
Dr. Raj has achieved various milestones in his career being one of the few in the world to perform and promote SILS surgeries on a regular basis and has designed his own ergonomic modification for SILS port placement. He also had designed various traction techniques for the same including the “Hiatal Sling” technique of liver traction. He is fondly and rightfully called by his seniors and colleagues as ‘ERGONOMIC MAN OF INDIA” and has introduced a prctical application for port placement in minimal access surgery named as "Rule of Hand". His interest in technological advancements made him introduce Robotic and Endoluminal bariatric surgeries in to India. He has been instrumental in promoting bariatric-metabolic surgery and Robotic surgery and is a teaching, examiner and research faculty for various universities and associations.