Career
His career at KMC Mangalore, his research and his teaching.
From 2006 until his death in 2023, Dr. Kamath was Professor and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics at Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Mangalore. He had joined the department as a lecturer in 1989 and rose through its ranks, becoming Assistant Professor in 1991, Reader in 1994 and Associate Professor in 1995.
Before joining KMC, he spent 1988–89 training in hand surgery at Government Stanley Hospital, Chennai, in the hand unit founded by R. Venkataswamy that later became the Institute for Research and Rehabilitation of Hand. He had earlier worked as an orthopaedic surgeon at Nanjappa Hospital, Shimoga (1987–88), as a resident orthopaedic surgeon at Bhatia Central Hospital, Mumbai (1986–87), and at Alva’s Health Centre, Moodabidri (1986).
He was a member of the Indian Orthopaedic Association, the Karnataka Orthopaedic Association, the Canara Orthopaedic Association and the Indian Medical Association, and served on the executive committee of the Indian Society for Surgery of the Hand.
Research
Devices and techniques
Many of his papers describe a device made by adapting an existing, inexpensive item. The table lists the main examples, newest first, with the paper that describes each one.
| Made from | Used as | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| Kirschner wires | Modified implants for hospitals with limited resources | J Musculoskelet Surg Res, 2025 |
| Surgical glove | Bedside planning of flaps for hand injuries | Ann R Coll Surg Engl, 2024 |
| Thomas splint | Extended indications; non-operative treatment of paediatric femoral shaft fractures | OJHAS, 2018 and 2016 |
| Wire loop (“bone tie”) | Interfragmentary compression of metacarpal and phalangeal fractures | J Hand Surg Eur, 2017; Indian J Orthop, 2016; Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg, 2012 |
| Corneal (ophthalmic) blade | Fine dissection in hand surgery | Indian J Plast Surg, 2017 |
| Foley catheter | Irrigation and aspiration in bone and joint infection | Surg Infect, 2016 |
| Böhler stirrup | Protection of posterior heel soft-tissue injuries | Med J DY Patil Univ, 2014 |
| Mini external fixator | Maintaining the web space after release of contracture or syndactyly | Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg, 2013 |
| External-fixator components | Nerve approximator | Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg, 2011 |
| Custom-made latex tube | Model for practising microvascular repair | Plast Reconstr Surg, 2007 |
Patents
Granted by the Patent Office, Government of India, from work with the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Surathkal.
| Invention | Granted | Related paper |
|---|---|---|
| Ulnar neuropathy device | 2 July 2024 | |
| Nerve trimming kit | December 2023 | “Nerve trimming device”, Indian J Plast Surg, 2018 |
| Automated Ilizarov apparatus | November 2023 |
Source: KMC Mangalore announcements. Patent numbers will be added here when available.
Publications
His papers, including those describing the devices and patents above, are listed in full on the Publications page.
Teaching
He taught undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Department of Orthopaedics at KMC Mangalore from 1989 until 2023. Residents in the department often appear as co-authors on his papers, and several postgraduate dissertations he guided were later published.
Postgraduate dissertations
From his KMC Mangalore faculty page, matched against the publication list.
| Postgraduate | Year | Dissertation topic | Later publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Rajashekar Danda | 2012 | Ultrasound-guided local steroid infiltration in de Quervain’s tenosynovitis | J Hand Microsurg, 2016 |
| Dr. Naufal Rizwan Ahmed | 2011 | Modified wide-awake surgery of the hand | Indian J Plast Surg, 2016 |
| Dr. Vishal Pai | 2011 | Clinical assessment of the pelvifemoral angle | J Clin Orthop Trauma, 2013 |
| Dr. Shilpa Kamath | 2011 | Bryant’s triangle in normal individuals | None found |
| Dr. Siva Kumar S. P. | 2010 | Reconstruction of traumatic soft-tissue defects of the leg and foot | Manipal eprints record, 2013 |
| Dr. Mohammed Shafeek | 2009 | Randomised controlled study of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound in fracture healing | Muller J Med Sci Res, 2014 |
| Dr. Vivek Singh | 2008 | Flaps and grafting techniques in finger reconstruction distal to the MCP joint | None found |
The faculty page lists dissertations only up to about 2012. Later students are not recorded here yet.