Dr Raghu Ram Pillarisetti conferred Honorary FRCS by Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Hyderabad: Dr Raghu Ram Pillarisetti, Founding Director of the KIMS USHALAKSHMI Centre for Breast Diseases, Hyderabad, has achieved the rare distinction of becoming the youngest surgeon from South Asia to be conferred the Honorary FRCS (Glasgow) by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG).
Having earned FRCS (Glasgow) by examination in 1997, Dr. Pillarisetti now holds the unique honour of being the only surgeon worldwide to be both an FRCS (by examination) and an Honorary Fellow of the same College.
This highest honour, from the 425-year-old College, was formally bestowed upon Dr. Raghu Ram by Prof. Hany Etiba, President of RCPSG, at a glittering ceremony held in the historic College Hall in Glasgow on 10 September 2025, which was followed by a formal sit-down Dinner to celebrate the conferment of Honorary Fellowship.
Addressing the Guests, Professor Hany Etiba, President, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, said, “I am delighted to confer upon Dr Pillarisetti the Honorary Fellowship, which is the most prestigious and highest honour bestowed by the College. For over two decades, he has dedicated himself to his community, bringing hope to millions of people in the fight against breast cancer.
By fostering close links with surgeons in the UK, India and worldwide, he has been integral to our mission of advancing health and professional standards in surgery. We are immensely proud to welcome him into our College community and look forward to strengthening the bond between the UK and India.”
The Citation read out by Prof. Abhay Rane, Registrar and Trustee of the RCPSG paid glowing tribute to Dr. Raghu Ram’s transformative contributions to breast cancer care in India over nearly two decades, his pioneering role in convening 12 overseas FRCS/MRCS preparatory courses in Hyderabad that enabled over 2,000 trainees from across South Asia to succeed in the prestigious examinations, and his strategic guidance to the College’s academic initiatives in India.
Expressing his gratitude, Dr. Raghu Ram Pillarisetti said: “I am deeply grateful to the President of RCPSG for conferring this highest honour, and I dedicate this singular recognition to my family, my patients, and my motherland.”
Founded in 1599, RCPSG is over 425 years old and is the only multidisciplinary Royal College in the British Isles that represents a diverse community of over 15,000 Surgeons, Dentists & Professionals working in podiatry and travel medicine from across 97 Countries around the world. The President later bestowed prestigious “MRCS” & “FRCS”, which are globally recognised to doctors who have passed the Intercollegiate Examination upon completion of their training requirements.
Dr Raghu Ram Pillarisetti has been conferred Honorary Fellowships from 7 other world-renowned Surgical Colleges. A Padma Shri and Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee, he is the only surgeon in the world to have received the highest honours from all three Surgical Royal Colleges in the UK and the British Government.
These include:
• OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire - 2020)- second-highest ranking British Empire award (Excluding Knighthood).
• Honorary FRCS (England), 2022 – the highest honour of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
• Honorary FRCS (Glasgow), 2025 – the highest honour of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
• International Gold Medal (RCS Ed), 2013 – the highest honour conferred upon a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh residing outside the UK
He revolutionised breast cancer care in India over the past 18 years through a series of innovative measures. He established South Asia’s First comprehensive Breast Health Centre and founded a charitable Foundation to raise awareness of the disease nationwide. He implemented South Asia’s largest population-based screening programme in the southern Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh – this programme is currently being rolled out nationwide.
He played a pivotal role in forming the Association of Breast Surgeons of India, which is South Asia’s first and only Organisation that represents surgeons practicing Breast Surgery in India.
His love for his motherland and passion for social service have been his trademarks. He adopted a remote village in the State of Telangana (Ibrahimpur), where he has provided life-changing equipment and facilities through his personal philanthropy, which has been recognized with local, regional & national awards.
Some of the prominent Surgeons who were closely associated with this historic College include Prof. Peter Low – the founder of RCPSG, who published the first Surgical textbook in English (1597), Sir William Macewan - “father of Neuro Surgery’ credited to have removed the first brain tumour, Prof. Joseph lister – father of antiseptic surgery, Prof. Sir, Greame Teasdale, former president of the College & Prof. Bryan Bennet - both of whom founded the Glasgow Coma Scale, which is widely used tool worldwide to assess the level of consciousness and indeed Prof. Jamini Sen – an Indian Surgeon and the first female Fellow of the College (1912).
