Poet Emily Dickinson once wrote, 'The brain is deeper than the sea.' And, despite medical science not being able to reach the depths, there are a few neurosurgeons around the world trying to feel its pulse so as to make living less painful. Among them is Goa’s Dr Vernon Velho.
Born in Mingfoll waddo of Chinchinim in South Goa, to former Navelim MLA Leo Velho, Vernon finished his MBBS at the Goa Medical College (GMC), and at the age of 38, was appointed Head of Department (HoD) of another GMC (Grant Medical College) – India’s premier medical centre of neurosurgery in Mumbai, where he still works.
'I AM NOT GOD'
Being Head of Department of one of India’s premier neurosurgery institutes is not what matters most to Dr Velho, but being able to help the poorest is.
“The patients I treat generally look at me as God. But, I am not, and I make them understand that I am His instrument. I cannot decide destiny. I just try to make living better. How one lives is how one wants to get connected to the Power above us,” believes Dr Velho, who performs around 750 to 850 cranial surgeries and around 450 to 550 spine cases a year.
HIS KEY TO BRAIN HEALTH
“We are nowhere close to being God because we cannot create what He does,” professes Dr Vernon, who till date, has 127 publications in international indexed medical journals.
"The role of a doctor is to be compassionate and decrease a patient’s suffering because it is not just the disease, but emotional wellbeing that needs attention,” he adds.
The Government of Maharashtra, feels Dr Velho, is giving a massive push to brain health care by starting neurosurgery centres in remote areas. “With problems being detected early, it is easier to cure at the tertiary level,” he remarks.
BEYOND THE OPERATION THEATRE
But, he doesn’t believe this role ends in the operation theatre.
“The role of a doctor is holistic and not idealistic. I go through, and I suppose most neurosurgeons do, tremendous stress waiting for the patient to recover after surgery because it signals a turning point of recovery,” says Dr Velho, for whom there is no end to the study of the brain.
“The brain is the most fascinating organ of the body. It is the epicenter, whilst the heart is the pump, and that explains why technology in medical science is more oriented towards problems related to the brain,” says Dr Velho.
The brain is the most fascinating organ of the body. It is the epicenter, whilst the heart is the pump, and that explains why technology in medical science is more oriented towards problems related to the brain
Dr Vernon Velho, Neurosurgeon, Grant Medical College, Mumbai
SHUN THE CORPORATIST
“Till today,” he shares, “no one has been able to transplant a brain. There is still a lot of study to be done on the brain. Till now, we have been able to map and image the brain. ”
Many believe that those in medicine today are forgetting the Hippocratic Oath, but Dr Velho has a different perspective.
“I wouldn’t use the word 'commercialised'. It is the situation that has arisen because of corporatisation that is leading many doctors to follow the dictates of corporates. The corporatist is there to make money and they pay doctors to do that for them,” says Dr Velho.
SERVICE IS HIS MOTTO
“I have stayed in government service because I want to give service, the way I want. For me, medicine is all about reaching out, and the government offers that platform, whereas the corporate approach is business oriented,” justifies Dr Velho, who is the first from Goa, to be amongst the best of neurosurgeons in India.
“Neurosurgery is not just about the brain, but the spine too. And, strokes and tumours are two of the main areas in focus,” says Dr Velho, who is renowned the world over for his cranial and spinal surgeries, which in medical parlance, are mostly complex.
TRUST IN LIFE'S INNER VOICE
As he relaxes at his ancestral house preparing for a solemn Christmas celebration, he advises, “Don’t follow routine; follow what is good for you. Anything you do in life pays. There is an inner voice that guides through signals that I believe come from the Top. My trust in life begins there.”
At 55, Dr Vernon Velho makes it feel like his journey has just begun. His lifeline appears close to faultless with the halo of goodness in abundance and the flag of Goa set to keep soaring in the world of medicine.