Dr. Bijoy Methil
(1973–2018)
The proud parents Mr. Vishwambharan R. Methil and Mrs. Vasantha V. Methil set their eyes on their firstborn, Bijoy Vishwambharan Methil on 13th May 1973. He was born at Trichur Medical College, Kerala. Being the eldest of the Methil clan which welcomed Shaju, Deepa and Divya after him, he was always the quintessential elder brother, who loved unconditionally and watched over his siblings.
Bijoy did his schooling from St. Joseph's High School, Kandivali. In his early years, he always wanted to be an IPS officer, but 1 day he announced to his parents that he wanted to become a doctor. Dr. Bijoy Methil graduated from the NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, in 1994. It was here that he met the love of his life, Dr. Anju Vasandani. He completed his training in general surgery from the INHS Asvini, Mumbai, in 1998. Dr. Anju and Dr. Bijoy got married on the 30th May 1999. Following his surgical training, plastic surgery beckoned, and he went on to Baroda Medical College where he pursued his training in plastic surgery. Dr. Bijoy was board certified with the MCh in plastic surgery in 2004 and cleared the Diplomate of National Board in Plastic Surgery to add another feather to his cap.
Dr. Bijoy Methil joined as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at the Jaslok and Saifee Hospitals in Mumbai, which are premier healthcare institutes in the country. He went on to do an advanced fellowship in microvascular reconstruction at the Chang Gung Hospital, Taiwan. Dr. Methil's cosmetic surgery exposure began since his training in plastic surgery and was reinforced with exposure to cosmetic surgery at the Chang Gung Hospital, Taiwan, the National University Hospitals and at the Plastic and Hand Surgery, Medspa, Singapore. Subsequently, he was awarded an advanced fellowship in cosmetic surgery at the St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia, where he operated with some of the best cosmetic surgeons in Australia and gained immense knowledge about the art and science of cosmetic surgery.
Dr. Methil had a special interest in facial cosmetic surgery, non-surgical facial rejuvenation, cosmetic breast surgery and body contouring, head and neck reconstruction and breast reconstruction. He had also been developing a subspeciality interest in autologous fat transfer, stem cells and regenerative medicine. He always was a keen proponent of using evidence-based protocols in aesthetic surgery. He was a thinker and presented several papers at conferences. He received the prestigious Kilner Award of Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI).
He is a member of the APSI, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, World Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Indian Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery, The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Indian Medical Association.
Dr. Bijoy was a passionate, loving, caring, humane individual and surgeon. Unconditional love for his friends and family was his greatest quality and that made him ‘the pillar’ for everyone around him. He was associated with local leprosy centres where he conducted free surgeries for the afflicted. He was a philanthropist and donated to the local girl orphanage handsomely every year on his and his children's birthdays. His jaw-dropping results in head, neck and breast reconstructions had earned him the respect of juniors and seniors alike at national conferences. His most telling legacy was that he inspired a lot of young surgical residents to take plastic surgery as their superspeciality.
He was an avid trekker, and bikes were his passion. He had been on several adventure trails around the country having conquered the difficult Sach pass too. Being an experienced biker, he had led some of these bike rides with his fellow bikers. The Everest base camp was on his trekking wish list, and the Black forest was his biking one in 2018. However, life had other plans; he met with a fatal accident while returning home from one of the rides on 29th January 2018. He is survived by his parents, siblings, wife and two lovely children Aditya (17) and Aanya (8). He lived life to the fullest and always encouraged everyone around him to find their calling and pursue it. He believed,
Sing like no one's listening,
Love like you've never been hurt,
Dance like nobody's watching,
And live like its heaven on earth.
-Mark Twain
Time heals many wounds, but his loss will be the defining sadness in many lives he touched. The plastic surgery community has lost a young, dynamic, brilliant surgeon, whose ever helping ways will be missed by his colleagues.
