IPRAS

Patna, Lucknow, Bombay, Pune, Delhi, Chandigarh,Patiala, Madras, Madurai and Calcutta.In the last four decades there has been a tremendousgrowth of Plastic Surgery. The number of teachingcenters has increased in the country and today hardlyany student is going abroad for basic Plastic Surgerytraining. The Association has established severaltraveling fellowships for training within and outside thecountry (appendix I), as well as several Professorships(appendix II). A few specialized centers of excellencefor management of burns, Hand and Micro-vascularSurgery, Craniofacial Surgery and Aesthetic Surgeryalso developed, in different parts of the country, bydint of hard work and special interests. The IndianJournal of Plastic Surgery started in 1981, in order tobring together all the professionals involved and todisseminate and advance their knowledge. Very proudly,IJPS (India Journal of Plastic Surgery) is now a popularjournal, indexed with Medline and publishing papersfrom across the world.There are about 800 Full members and 150 Associatemembers of APSI today.India had the privilege of hosting the IXth and theXVth Congresses of IPRAS in Delhi, in 1987 and 2009,respectively. Dr Suresh Gupta and Dr Rajeev B. Ahuja,respectively, were principally responsible for the organizationof the events. Both the events were a huge success, withthe delegates who enjoying the Indian hospitality. APSIalso has the privilege of giving two Secretary Generals tothe Asia Pacific Section of IPRAS; Dr B.M. Daver (1997-2001) and Dr Rajeev B. Ahuja (2009-2013).APSI has recently established a Humanitarian activitycorpus and the interest from this will be available to anyAPSI member to use for a humanitarian project in thecountry. APSI has also leaded in proposing and observingJuly 15th as the Plastic Surgery Day, when all PlasticSurgeons are urged to contribute free services to the needyin their Region. IPRAS has promised to propagate thisconcept. APSI has also started professional developmentcourses, which are topic-based and held three times ayear, rotating across the country. They are delivered at nocost to students and APSI members, through sponsorshipfrom Ethicon. These courses are extremely popular andhave been a huge success.Past Presidents of APSI during APSICON at Goa in 2010. (L-R Dr K.S. Sekhar, Dr N. Pandya, Dr V. Bhattacharya, Dr Suresh Gupta,Dr Mukund Thatte, Lt Gen L.P. Sadhotra, Dr Rajeev B. Ahuja, Dr K. Sridhar, Dr. Rajasabapathy)72 IPRAS Journal www.ipras.org Issue 7