He is not only a top achiever in the medical field but also a great social worker, writer, scientist and a visionary. Interestingly he has a keen interest in sports as well, especially Soccer, Cricket, Tennis, Shooting and Archery. He closely follows the Indian cricket team, especially in its abroad tours and ICC events. At a club level, he is a big fan of Liverpool Football club for the last 30 years.
Both his parents worked as Professors in Agra College, Agra. Born as the elder son in a family with such academic pedigree meant that he had access to the best of academic institutions, but that came with a high burden of expectations as well. He managed all this with flying colours; the results were clearly evident the early part of his schooling at the prestigious St. Peter’s College, Agra, where he came first in Agra in ICSE and ISC examination. He subsequently did his MBBS and MS (General Surgery) with Gold medals as the best student in his batch and was awarded Gold medals for the same. However, Dr. Himanshu believes that the biggest challenge in his academic career was his entry into the superspeciality (M.Ch. Surgical Gastroenterology) course at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences. According to him, “There were only a total 5-6 superspecialty seats in Surgical Gastroenterology at that time across all Institutes, with a theory and practical examination which meant that u had to be the best in India to get into that specific course”.
He has been a surgeon teacher throughout his career and guiding force to all Laparoscopic surgeons around him. His first teaching assignment came as early as 2009, when he was inducted as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, S. N. Medical College, Agra. Many surgeons trained by him have gone on to become superspecialists in their respective fields and are doing exemplary work. Recognising his pioneering work, the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India (which is the largest body of minimal access surgeons in India) inducted him into its Executive committee in 2018 as its youngest ever member. This association has meant that he has been actively involved in training future generations of surgeons all across India and in the neighbouring South-East Asian countries.
Dr Himanshu was the first to introduce advanced Laparoscopic surgery in Agra. Starting from his very first case, a Laparoscopic Subtotal Colectomy, he has been instrumental in popularizing this new branch of medicine and further extending its frontiers. He is the first in this region to have applied Laparoscopic technique to all types of surgery including cancer surgery.
Laparoscopic surgery is beneficial to all sections of society as they recover quickly from surgery without pain and go back to work early. Also, the overall costs are lower. He believes in the concept of “QUALITY AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE”, which implies that the benefits of advanced procedures should also be made accessible to weaker sections of the society. Making it possible to provide Laparoscopic surgery at affordable cost through his innovations have been the essence of his contribution to the society.
