P. K. Sethi
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224183593
2008-07-07T18:27:46Z
Bender21435
6782007
{{Nofootnotes|article|date=January 2008}}
'''Pramod Karan Sethi''' ([[28 November]] [[1927]] – [[6 January]] [[2008]]) was an [[India]]n [[orthopaedic]] surgeon. With Ram Chandra Sharma, he co-invented the "[[Jaipur leg|Jaipur foot]]", an inexpensive and flexible [[artificial limb]], in 1969.
==Personal life and career==
Sethi was born at [[Varanasi]] (then Benares),<ref name="Lancet_obit" /> where his father [[Nihal Karan Sethi]], himself a renowned scientist, was a physics professor at [[Banaras Hindu University|Benares Hindu University]].<ref name=BMJ>[http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7443/789 Singhal D, Nundy S. (2004) No mean feet. ''BMJ'' 328: 789] (accessed 28 January 2008)</ref> Sethi trained as a general surgeon at [[Agra]] under G. N. Vyas. In 1958, he specialised in orthopaedics, when the [[Sawai Man Singh Hospital]] in Jaipur where he worked needed an orthopaedics department because of a [[Medical Council of India]] inspection.<ref name=BMJ /> He later cited his lack of qualifications in orthopaedics as an advantage in developing the Jaipur foot.<ref name=BMJ /> Much of his practice was in [[physiotherapy]], including the rehabilitation of [[amputation|amputees]].<ref name="Lancet_obit">Oransky I. (2008) Obituary: Pramod Karan Sethi. ''Lancet'' 371: 298</ref> He retired in 1981.<ref name=Time>[http://www.time.com/time/reports/heroes/foot.html McGirk T. (1997) The $28 Foot. ''Time'' (Heroes of Medicine Special Issue)] (accessed 28 January 2008)</ref>
He was married to Sulochana, and the couple had a son and three daughters. Sethi died of cardiac arrest in [[Jaipur]], [[India]].<ref name="Lancet_obit" />
==[[Jaipur leg|Jaipur foot]]==
The Jaipur foot is made of rubber and wood and is probably the lowest cost prosthetic limb available in the world. The [[International Red Cross]] Committee has used it extensively in [[Afghanistan]] and other places to help amputees. Several injured soldiers in the [[Kargil war]] were benefited due to the Jaipur foot. Sethi was recognized by the [[Guinness Book of World Records]] for helping a large number of amputees in obtaining mobility again. The Indian dancer and actor [[Sudha Chandran]] was one of his patients.
'''Ram Chandra Sharma''', an illiterate craftsman, is the co-inventor of the foot. The original idea of the Jaipur foot is supposed to have come to him serendipitiously while he was riding a bicycle and had a flat tire.<ref name=Time/>
==Awards==
Sethi was awarded the [[Magsaysay Award]] for Community Leadership in [[1981]].<ref name="Ramon_Magsaysay">[http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationSethiPra.htm The 1981 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership: Citation for Pramod Karan Sethi] (accessed 28 January 2008)</ref> He was a [[Padma Shri]] awardee{{Fact|date=January 2008}} and he also won a major [[Rotary International]] award.<ref name="Lancet_obit" /> He was elected a fellow of the British [[Royal College of Surgeons of England|Royal College of Surgeons]].<ref name=Time/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.jaipurfoot.org/ Jaipurfoot]
* [http://www.time.com/time/reports/heroes/foot.html ''Time Magazine'' article on PK Sethi and Jaipur Foot]
* [http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/BiographySethiPra.htm The 1981 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership: Biography of Pramod Karan Sethi]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/world/asia/08seti.html?ref=health New York Times: P. K. Sethi, Inventor of the Low-Tech Limb, Is Dead at 80 ]
* [http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/06foot.htm News item about Dr. Sethi's death]
{{BD|1927|2008|Sethi, P.K.}}
[[Category:Indian surgeons]]
[[Category:People from Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Padma Shri recipients]]
[[Category:People from Varanasi]]
[[Category:Deaths from cardiovascular disease]]
[[fr:Pramod Karan Sethi]]
[[te:ప్రమోద్ కరణ్ సేథీ]]