Resource Name:
MullaferozePerin5.jpg
File Size:
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Resource Type:
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Asset Name:
E010717 - Mullaferoze, Perin Kavasji (1910 - 2005)
Title:
Mullaferoze, Perin Kavasji (1910 - 2005)
Author:
Sarah Gillam
Identifier:
RCS: E010717
Publisher:
The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2025-03-06
Subject:
Description:
Obituary for Mullaferoze, Perin Kavasji (1910 - 2005), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
IsPartOf Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Date of Birth:
3 October 1910
Place of Birth:
Bombay India
Date of Death:
November 2005
Titles/Qualifications:
MB BS Grant Medical College 1935
MRCS LRCP 1937
FRCS 1940
OBE 1947
Details:
Perin Mullaferoze, the first female orthopaedic surgeon in Mumbai, India, devoted her life to the treatment and management of children with cerebral palsy. She was born on 3 October 1910 at Cumballa Hill in what was then Bombay. She attended Queen Mary School at Byculla, Elphinstone College and then Grant Medical College, Bombay, earning her MB BS degree in 1935. She was subsequently a house surgeon at the Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Hospital.
From 1936 to 1940 she was in the UK for further surgical training. She gained her MRCS LRCP in 1937 and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1940.
She returned to India, where she was a general surgeon at the Cama Hospital in Bombay until 1943. She then joined the Indian Army as a captain, later rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and saw service in Alipore, Asansol, Ranchi, Dacca and Batavia. In 1947 she was awarded an OBE for her military service.
Also in 1947, she helped set up the Society for Rehabilitation of Crippled Children. Beginning as a small clinic in a doctor’s waiting room for the treatment of children affected by polio, under the patronage of Nehru land was granted in Bombay and, in 1950, the Children’s Orthopaedic Hospital was established. In 1953 Mullaferoze took over as medical director.
By 1956 the number of children presenting to the hospital with cerebral palsy had increased significantly, and she decided to research treatment options. She visited the UK, where she met Karel and Berta Bobath, who were developing their Bobath method of managing cerebral palsy, Japan and the United States, where a team approach was used in clinics.
In 1963 she set up a cerebral palsy unit as a pilot project in Bombay, where she worked with a team of experts, including a neurologist, paediatrician, physiotherapist, nurses, occupational and speech therapists. The institution, which became permanent, was the first multidisciplinary service provider for children with cerebral palsy in India.
With the aim of encouraging research and increasing awareness of cerebral palsy, Mullaferoze conducted courses for therapists, held seminars and wrote several papers. She also encouraged parents to form support groups and helped found the Indian Academy of Cerebral Palsy.
A polyglot, she was fluent in English, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and Konkani, and was an avid reader, an animal lover and a sports enthusiast.
Mullaferoze died in November 2005 at the age of 95. In her honour her birthday – 3 October – has been designated by the Indian Academy of Cerebral Palsy as ‘National Cerebral Palsy Day’.
Sources:
Mumbai Legacy Project D Ward Dr Perin Kavasji Mullaferoze 1910-2005 www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/Heritage-9.pdf – accessed 21 February 2025
*The Voice of Malabar Hills* Vol 4 Issue 9 October 2017 ‘Tribute to Dr Perin Kavas Mullaferoze’ https://thevoiceofmalabarhills.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tribute-to-Dr.-Perin-Kavas-Mullaferoze.pdf – accessed 21 February 2025
Rights:
Copyright (c) The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Images Courtesy: The Society for the Rehabilitation of Crippled Children (SRCC), Haji Ali, Mumbai
Collection:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Format:
Obituary
Format:
Asset
Asset Path:
Root/Lives of the Fellows/E010000-E010999/E010700-E010799
URL for File:
https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/388610/0
https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/388610/1
https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/388610/2
https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/388610/3
https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/388610/4
Media Type:
JPEG Image
File Size:
105.27 KB