Introduction:
Dr.
S. M. Balaji is a Cranio-Maxillofacial surgeon of international repute and an
outstanding academician. He has over 28 years of surgical experience, having
performed over 20,000 surgeries. The many innovations that he has introduced
into cleft lip and palate surgery have today become standard surgical protocol.
Editorship
in Prestigious Journals:
His
thirst for knowledge has led to him accomplishing many firsts. He is the
founder editor and current editor-in-chief of the highly acclaimed “Annals of
Maxillofacial Surgery (AMS).” This is a PubMed indexed journal in the field of
oral and maxillofacial surgery. He is also the Executive Editor of the “Indian
Journal of Dental Research (IJDR).” The IJDR is the official journal of the
Indian Society for Dental Research.
Books
Published:
He has
also authored many books. His “Textbook of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery” is
widely available around the world. It is also the nation’s best selling
prescribed textbook on that subject for both undergraduates as well as
postgraduates. His book on “Clinical Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery” is the first
single author textbook to have been written by an Indian author on the subject.
His book
for parents of newborn children with cleft lip and palate is widely available
in bookstores. It has won acclaim for the way it educates and calms down
anxious parents. He has also authored thousands of published articles on every
aspect of oral and maxillofacial surgery. He has published scientific articles
in every oral and maxillofacial surgery journal of note around the world.
Contribution
to Research:
He has
been a member of the Indian Council of Medical Research. The prestigious “Brammaiah
Sastri Award” was awarded to him by the Indian Council of Biomedical
Scientists. This award was for his work using a tissue engineering based
protein for jaw bone regeneration with internal distractors.
Awards Won:
He has
been the recipient of the “Dr. B.C. Roy Award,” the highest honour bestowed by
the Medical Council of India. He has won the prestigious “Dr. Ginwalla Rolling
Trophy” twice. This is awarded to the best paper at the national conference of
the AOMSI (Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of India.
He has
also received the best paper awards at World Cleft Congresses conducted at
Zurich, Halifax, and Goteborg. He won the “Modus Award of Merit” for presenting
a paper on the “Best Innovative Surgical Technique.” This was at the 6th
Asian Conference on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery held at Tokyo. This comes
with a cash award of 50,000 Yen. He also won the gold medal for best paper at
the 4th Asian Conference on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Orator Par
Excellence:
An exceptional
orator, he has delivered many orations including the prestigious Ginwalla
oration of the Indian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the
highly esteemed R. Ahmed oration of the Indian Dental Association. He is also a
much sought after speaker at dental colleges across the country and his
inspirational speeches have motivated generations of dental students to take up
research as a career choice.
Furthering
Dental Education:
His
passion for furthering the cause of education in dentistry is well known. He
regularly organizes Continuing Dental Education programs in the state of art
conference room of the hospital. He gives equal importance to every specialty
branch of dentistry while planning these programs. Faculty members at these
programs are chosen with diligence and are amongst the world leaders in their
chosen field.
Conferences
Organized:
He was the
Congress President of the 7th Biennial World Cleft Congress
and the 10th World Cleft Lip, Palate, and Craniofacial Congress as
well as the Organizing Chairman of the 4th International Congress on
Craniofacial Osteobiology and Distraction.
Humanitarian
Work:
Dr. S. M.
Balaji regularly organizes humanitarian surgical missions to treat people with
limited resource in remote parts of India as well as in various regions around
the world. He performs free surgeries for patients who would otherwise not
receive any surgical care for their conditions. The quality of life of these
patients is greatly improved as a result of these surgeries.
