Beautification is often mistaken for vanity, yet for many, whether driven by professional demands or the desire to feel confident from within, correcting even a minor structural flaw can be transformative. When executed with precision, aesthetic surgery is as much about balance and confidence as it is about appearance. At the other extreme are moments where surgery becomes life-saving, preventing limb loss and restoring function. Bridging these two worlds requires rare surgical mastery, where complex reconstructive precision and refined aesthetic judgment coexist seamlessly.
An individual who switched his core specialisation by listening to an inner calling that reshaped his life, embodies resilience and purpose. Dr. N. Jithendran was guided by a deep motivation to serve society and improve patient outcomes, his journey stands as a testament to conviction-driven excellence earning him the title of “India’s Most Inspiring Healthcare Leader 2025.”
Formative Years
Raised and educated across Punjab and Delhi, his formative years were shaped by constant movement and exposure to diverse academic environments. He studied from the 3rd to 7th standard in Punjab, before completing his schooling in Delhi, including his years at DTEA Mandir Marg.
Choosing the biology stream during higher secondary education marked a turning point. An early fascination with botany, zoology, and the human body soon translated into a deeper interest in anatomy and surgical dissection. At a time when most students debated between engineering and medicine, the latter felt intuitive, structured, logical, and rooted in constants rather than variables.
The Learning Curve
Clearing the All India Entrance Examination, he joined Stanley Medical College in 1993 and completed his MBBS in 2000. Surgery remained his primary interest throughout medical school, prompting him to dedicate an additional year to postgraduate entrance preparation.
His efforts culminated in securing an All India Rank of approximately 70, after which he pursued MS in Orthopaedics at GSU Medical College, Kanpur (2000–2003). The discipline appealed to him for its emphasis on limbs, movement, and functional restoration, skills that would later become foundational to his reconstructive work.
When Practice Shaped Purpose
Early professional opportunities proved instructive but challenging. Limited access to positions in Delhi due to pre-decided seats and unsustainable remuneration in Mumbai led him to Dehradun, where he joined Indrej Hospital as a Senior Resident in Orthopaedics.
It was here that clinical exposure reshaped his trajectory. Recurrent encounters with severe limb trauma, burns, and vascular injuries, often managed without timely plastic or microvascular support, resulted in preventable limb loss. These experiences had a major impact on him since it revealed the limitations of orthopaedics alone and underscored the necessity of plastic and reconstructive surgery in functional limb salvage.
Motivated by this gap, he transitioned into plastic surgery, clearing two out of three entrance examinations and joining Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. The shift from orthopaedics was met with initial resistance, but perseverance and performance gradually earned acceptance. He completed his plastic surgery training in 2007.
Subsequent years were defined by continuous skill expansion. After additional exposure in Coimbatore and a brief return to Dehradun, he relocated to Hyderabad, where he spent seven to eight years focusing on microvascular and reconstructive surgery. A month-long advanced microvascular training program in Taiwan further refined his expertise, enabling him to integrate high-end techniques into Indian clinical practice.
A later move to Bangalore brought high-volume trauma and hand surgery cases, particularly finger injuries requiring microsurgical precision. After four to five years at Sparsh Hospital, he transitioned into private practice, where his work expanded significantly into aesthetic surgery. Procedures such as rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, brow lifts, gynecomastia surgery, liposuction, tummy tucks, facelifts, otoplasty, lip lifts, and lip reduction became integral to his practice, driven by patient demand for privacy and personalised care.
Since 2021, he has been associated with Sammprada Hospital. Although primarily a medical oncology centre, the hospital has provided a supportive platform for his comprehensive plastic surgery practice. His work now spans the full spectrum, from diabetic foot reconstruction and nerve, tendon, and vascular injuries to microvascular flaps, functional muscle transfers, brachial plexus injuries, and facial palsy management. He is particularly known for finger replantation surgeries, performing approximately four to five such procedures every month.
Awards and Recognitions
Widely regarded for his microvascular and super-microsurgical expertise, he receives referrals from across India and overseas, including patients from the UK, Australia, Japan, the US, and Germany. Colleagues frequently refer to complex cases and complications, reflecting professional confidence in his outcomes.
His reputation has been built without active international marketing, relying instead on surgical results, patient reviews, and word-of-mouth. Sustained investment in advanced surgical equipment, resulting in one of the most comprehensive plastic surgery infrastructures in Bangalore, further reinforces his standing as a leader in both reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery.
Future Goals
Looking ahead, his focus is firmly on expanding advanced facial aesthetics and refining surgical outcomes rather than chasing volume. Over the next six months, he aims to strengthen his practice with the addition of laser technology and increase the number of deep plane facelifts, facial recontouring, and orthognathic procedures, areas he believes remain underutilised despite clear clinical need. He is particularly intent on addressing the overdependence on non-surgical cosmetic interventions, which he views as temporary and often counterproductive. Parallelly, continued investment in state-of-the-art equipment, adoption of newer techniques, and maintaining leadership in microvascular and super-microsurgical reconstruction remain central to his long-term vision, ensuring patients benefit from both technological progress and surgical precision.
