Dr. Kanaka was a pioneer of stereotactic surgery. She served as an Indian Army medical officer during the India-China War and became a neurosurgery professor at Madras Medical College in Chennai, India.
She retired in 1990 and used her pension benefits to found the Sri Santhanakrishna Padmavathi Health Care and Research Foundation in Chromepet, India, which provides free healthcare to the poor.
“She has inspired at least 75 to 80 women to become neurosurgeons in [India],” said Dr. G. Vijaya, head of neurosurgery at Vellore, India-based Sri Narayani Hospital and Research Centre. Dr. Vijaya is Dr. Kanaka’s niece and the second woman in her family to become a neurosurgeon.
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