Category Archives: medical marvels

December 4, 2023 · 1:06 am

The Gift of Healing and Teaching: Dr Ariyananda’s Lifework

Dr Sarath Gamani De Silva, reviewing Healing and Teaching. Gift of a Lifetime, by Pilane Liyanage Ariyananda, Colombo, A Vijitha Yapa Publication, 2023, .…..  224 pp …  LKR 2,000/2,000/=

Galle, one of the largest cities in Sri Lanka, had been labeled a sleepy old town by many.  However, there has been a remarkable awakening in the past few decades due to several reasons. The Dutch Fort has been recognised by the UNESCO as a world heritage site. This has resulted in a total overhaul of the Fort area making it one of the main attractions for local and foreign tourists. The International Cricket Stadium is praised by cricket commentators and fans worldwide as one of the most picturesque in the world. The devastation caused by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami brought the attention of the international community to the city of Galle.

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August 14, 2023 · 7:21 pm

In Appreciation of Dr Susiri Weerasekara, A Servant of Humankind

Arjuna Perera: In Loving Memory of Dr. J. K. S. Weerasekara, a Remarkable Doctor and Beloved Uncle … A Vale & An Adieu in Facebook

With heavy hearts, we bid farewell to a truly extraordinary individual, my wife’s uncle, who departed from us last Monday. As we reflect on his life, we are reminded of his immense contributions as a gifted Orthopaedic surgeon and as an exceptional human being. His legacy as a doctor goes beyond the operating room. Through his expertise and care, he touched the lives of countless patients, providing healing and comfort in their times of need. His dedication to his profession was a shining example of selflessness and compassion.

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May 20, 2023 · 7:55 pm

Combating The Damages of War & Accident: Artificial Limbs for One & All … In Lanka

CHRONOLOGY BACKWARDS

https://thuppahis.com/2021/07/24/dr-susiri-weerasekera-a-sturdy-servant-of-humankind/

https://thuppahis.com/2019/10/04/dr-susiri-weerasekera-a-man-for-all-seasons/

Dr Weerasekera standing 2nd from right facing us with a visiting dignitary at the Friend-in-Need Society building in Colombo Continue reading →

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October 22, 2022 · 12:22 am

Enhancing Protection in the Face of Pandemics

Dr. Laleen Jayamanne:** in The Island, 19 October 2022, where the title reads thus: “An Insider’s Guide to Pandemics and Biosecurity”

“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun”  …. The Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht, 1939

“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun”

The Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht, 1939

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September 25, 2022 · 1:48 pm

Dr Carlyle Perera, 1938-2022: A Warm Appreciation

Trevor Denver de Rozairo

Dr Carlyle Perera

A famous Sri Lankan doctor passed away peacefully at his home in Melbourne, Australia … At the age of 84.

Perera PSM. Dr. Carlyle was born in Kotahena, Colombo. His parents Wilton and Winifred thought they would educate their eldest son at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo the leading Catholic institution, where he completed his entire scholastic education. He was an exemplary student and during this period he excelled in sport as well. He participated in College Cricket captaining a successful First Eleven team in 1958 — an unique collective becuase his brother Travis was part of that team.

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July 7, 2022 · 9:32 pm

Aid Across Flood Waters: Dr Enoka Guneratne on Duty

Current Affairs News Item,on Channel Nine, 5 July 2022, where the title reads “Doctor’s mercy dash across surging floodwaters to help patients”

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has warned that flooding across the state is far from over. More than 50,000 people are now under flood evacuation orders or warnings and whole suburbs that have been cut off are still in need of access to essential services, which is where Dr Enoka Guneratne comes in. “I come from a third-world country, but I’ve never seen this,” the Richmond doctor, who is originally from Sri Lanka, said about the devastation left by the floods in Sydney’s north-west.

Dr Enoka Guneratne and the SES crew helping her. (A Current Affair)

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June 13, 2022 · 9:12 pm

Gamini Goonetilleke’s Medical Services Across Battle Zones during the Eelam Wars

Vijitha Yapa, reviewing The Extra Mile …. with highlighting emphasis imposed by The Editor Thuppahi

The ‘ethnic conflict’ in Sri Lanka had another side to it: writers in uniform whose existence was known only by a name in some instances have come forward to record their memoirs. General Kamal Gunaratne, now Secretary of Defence, led the way with his classic Road to Nandikadal. The book estab­lished records and remains a bestseller as he wrote not only about victories, but also mistakes made – and what really went on in the army.

However, the book authored by Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke explains how he didn’t fight the same war with guns, but syringes and a surgeon’s skills instead.

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November 10, 2021 · 12:09 pm

Roger Byard at the Cutting Edge in Forensic Pathology

University of Adelaide Newsroom, October 2021, where the title runs  “GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD PODCAST: TRUE STORIES AND FASCINATING CASES FROM A WORKING FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST”

Professor Roger Byard has opened up his case files and trawled back through his personal recollections for a new podcast from The Advertiser and the University of Adelaide, Guardians of the Dead, which sheds a light on the macabre but fascinating world of forensic pathology. “I say that pathologists are almost the guardians of the dead, because we are the last doctor to look after this person and this is a person,” Professor Byard , Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide, said. “Father, mother, brother, whatever. They’re part of a family and there are people who will miss this person for a long time so we have tremendous responsibility in this.  Particularly for parents who’ve lost a child or a baby, they want to talk to me… they just want to eyeball the person who looked after their baby. And so I can look at them and just say ‘this is not (just) a case. This is your dead child. And we can’t imagine what you’re going through, because we’re so saddened by it.”

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July 26, 2021 · 1:09 am

Vale: Dr Nalini Kumari Kappagoda, 21 January 1936-23 July 2021

Hugh Karunanayake

It is with much sadness that I record the demise of Dr Nalini Kappagoda, lately of Bundanoon and Killara. Dr Nalini Kappagoda, a long-time resident, of West Pymble, Killara, and Bundanoon, in New South Wales, passed away at the age of 85 on 23 July. She was one of the most brilliant products of the Ceylon Medical College, from where she passed out as a doctor with First Class Honours in 1960. She was most likely the only student in the history of the Medical College to collect a bag of 4 gold medals during a studentship. In 1958 she was awarded the Hazarai Gold Medal for the best student at the Third MBBS examination. In 1958 she was also awarded the Loos Gold medal for pathology. In the same year she was also awarded the Mathew Gold Medal for Forensic Medicine. In her final year in 1960 she was awarded the Dadabhoy Gold Medal for Medicine. She subsequently obtained her PhD in Pathology from the University of London and was a Fellow of the Royal Australian Society of Pathologists.

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July 24, 2021 · 8:04 pm

Dr Susiri Weerasekera: A Sturdy Servant of Humankind

Michael Roberts

In dealing today with the outrageous prejudices displayed by the American political analyst Robert Kaplan in mid-2009, I realised that I should reaffirm the essays devoted to the services to mankind provided by a doctor indomitable and discerning.[1] That medico was Dr. Susiri Weerasekera, who, alas, had deteriorated to a state non compos mentis when I made inquiries at his home in Nugegoda a few years back.

Susiri [with tie] is standing on the extreme left from the viewer’s eyes — this Pix being the Board of Management of the Friend-in-Need Society

Susiri Weerasekera was a person you would want to have alongside you in adversity: a person pragmatic, observant, down-to-earth and relatively unprejudiced. I got to know him when I dropped in on the Friend-in-Need Society in Colombo in 2010 to look into their work in support of the disabled and their speciality in assisting personnel who had lost a limb to obtain and then utilize a prosthetic leg.[2] When I embarked on journeys to the northern reaches Susiri provided me with names and introductions to key personnel in Vavuniya and Jaffna as well as an introduction to Dr Hemantha Herath who was in charge of medical relief for the IDP camps. These recommendations were invaluable.

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