Pankaj Garg: A Community Doctor to a Master Innovator to a Global Icon

Abstract

Pankaj Garg’s story is an interesting one and is a source of inspiration for all physicians and budding innovators. He started his career as a community doctor about two decades back in the year 2001, then changed gears in between to become an avid researcher and innovator. He progressed to become a leading international figure in his field. Garg has exemplified three important points. First, with proper temperament, it is possible to achieve academic excellence and conduct research even in a primary care setting. Second, every specialist should fulfill the role of a family physician as well. While pursuing any specialty, the role of a “general physician” should never be ignored. Third, innovation is a state of mind, and big institutions and well-equipped laboratories with costly gadgets are not a prerequisite to it. This is clearly exemplified by Pankaj Garg’s story that it is possible to excel in research, academics, and clinical work at the global level without any research budget, big institute tag, or the help of government or non-government organizations. Garg has more than 175 publications in high-impact journals. He has 30 innovations to his name, in and outside his field of expertise, all of which have been published in international journals. The innovations include new operative procedures, successful non-operative management, the discovery of new anatomical spaces, new concepts in disease understanding and management, and finding non-operative treatment for diseases for which surgery is routinely performed. It is impressive that seven of his innovations are popularly known by his name - Garg classification, Garg space, Garg protocol, Garg cardinal principles, Garg scoring system, Garg phenomenon, and Garg incontinence scores. Due to 30 innovations done single-handedly, Garg has been certified as a “doctor with maximum innovations” by several record books. Due to his ability to think “out-of-the-box” and his immense contribution to advancements in the field of proctology, he is recognized as a global icon in his field. Garg is a master teacher. He has taught surgical skills and the art of scientific paper writing to hundreds of surgeons and doctors. In spite of limited resources at his disposal, Garg goes out of his way to help poor people. He performs about 30–40% of operations free of cost. He has successfully treated patients from 41 countries and several patients from royal families of the Gulf who offered him lucrative money to move to the Middle East. However, Garg flatly refused all offers because his priority was to serve his country and countrymen first. Hence, a simple doctor working in a small city was never discouraged by the lack of resources, and the fear of working alone in a small set-up and without any help from the government has carved out a tale that can motivate professionals in any corner of the world. Dr. Garg’s story provides immense inspiration to every practicing physician in the country to innovate whether he/she is practicing in a primary healthcare center or a rural area.