Bengaluru doctor ditches car in traffic jam, runs 3 km to perform surgery

Dr Govind Nandakumar, gastroenterology surgeon at Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru, was driving to perform a laparoscopic gallbladder surgery on August 30 when he got stuck in traffic on the Sarjapur-Marathalli stretch.

He realised the delay could put his patient in danger, and so he left his car behind and ran the remaining distance in 45 minutes to perform the crucial surgery. On normal days, that distance would have taken him about ten minutes by car.

“I had to reach Manipal Hospital in Sarjapur from Cunningham Road. Due to heavy rains and waterlogging, there was a traffic pile up a few kilometers ahead of the hospital.” Dr Nandakumar told TOI.

Traffic, waterlogging – those two words would immediately make any Bengaluru citizen realise that he showed exemplary judgment in leaving his vehicle behind and making a dash for it. That week was especially bad with heavy rains inundating many parts of the tech city.

The surgeon also shared on Twitter a short video clip of his run with the caption, “Sometimes better to run to work !” and tagged chief minister BS Bommai among others.

Dr Nandakumar knew it was not just the female patient waiting for the emergecny gall bladder procedure, there were other patients too awaiting surgery that day.

His team got into the act as soon as the doctor steamed into the hospital, the surgery went ahead as planned and the patient was discharged on time.

Nandakumar has been performing critical surgeries for the past 18 years and has so far carried out more than 1,000 successful procedures. He specialises in dealing with surgical problems of the digestive system.