Early Life & Calling
Dr. Agadurappa Mahadevaiah, a great and noble human being, was born on August 16, 1935, in Bangalore. He joined the MBBS course by merit at the Bangalore Medical College in 1956.
As a medical student, he aspired to become an ENT surgeon because of a friend who was moderately deaf and could not get his deficiency repaired due to monetary insufficiency. This made Dr. Mahadevaiah all the more determined — he adored the role of an ENT surgeon to restore hearing in moderately deaf people.
He aspired to become an ENT surgeon because of a friend who was moderately deaf and could not get his deficiency repaired due to monetary insufficiency.
— The defining moment that shaped Dr. Mahadevaiah's entire careerInternational Training
He went to the United States in 1963 with the hope of acquiring otologic surgical skills. He then proceeded to Canada for an internship of 1.5 years in neurosurgery under Dr. Eric Peterson and another 6 months under Dr. Guy Labramboise at the Ottawa General Hospital.
To obtain his ENT training, he returned to the United States, where a one-year residency in general surgery at the Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, Connecticut proved to be a turning point in his life. He then applied for otology training — the specialisation that would define his legacy.
As a resident, he performed more than 714 ENT surgeries, including 24 stapedectomies and 2 sphenoethmoidectomies, and conducted open external ethmoidectomy for repair of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.
In 1968, he obtained his American Board (AB) degree in otorhinolaryngology at the first attempt — one of the most difficult examinations in which a candidate is questioned by 25 examiners. After the AB examination, he received a fellowship to perform research in otology at Columbia University.
Return to India & Building a Legacy
In October 1969, he left the United States for India to serve his fellow Indians. Having returned, he started his ENT practice in a small way and also had a short stint of government service as a lecturer at the Bangalore Medical College.
At that time, there were only a few otologists in the country to perform ear surgeries. Because Dr. Mahadevaiah had acquired advanced otology training, he started his practice in Bangalore, which slowly and steadily established his name. He was also associated with NIMHANS, Bangalore as an ENT skull base surgeon and was the first to repair CSF leak by external ethmoid route using a microscope.
As years went by, he felt the need to have his own organisation — and this saw the birth of the Basavanagudi ENT Care Centre, Bangalore, which is the alma mater to many practicing ENT surgeons. He performed more than 25,000 ear surgeries and an innumerable number of nasal surgeries and rhinoplasties at the centre.
Leadership & Positions
Published Work
A seminal reference work authored by Dr. Mahadevaiah — the culmination of decades of surgical experience and academic dedication — now a standard text for ENT surgeons across India.