Bengaluru: "A surgeon has to always look for more than just a deformity. If I have to translate my patients’ vision of how they want to look, into surgical method, then art is needed, as cranio-maxillo surgery translates from pure science and technology into art," says Dr Paul Salins, Medical Director and Vice-President of Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center at Narayana Health City.

Make no mistake about the fact that when you read his designation aloud, as an internationally acclaimed surgeon, Dr Paul Salins loves to be called an artist as well. And why not? After all, Dr Salins has been painting for ten years now and has around 30 paintings in his collection.

"These paintings have helped me hone my surgical skills as it is all about conceptualising at different levels," he explains.

Painting, he stresses, helps surgeons like him to go beyond the mundane.
"Artists give a fresh and novel perception and surgeries too are nothing but adopting strategies to overcome complications. Hence art does help in giving you creative ideas to go about a certain thing," he explains.

More than just painting in a quiet room, he inspires his teammates to cultivate the habit of painting while operating, as the operating areas in Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgeries are very critical (head, neck, face, jaws, etc). Standing testimony to his work is Dr Paul's art gallery in Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center, which inspires budding doctors to be creative in their work.

But, how does a man as busy as him find time for painting?
His response: "I don't have time but I make time. During the meagre thirty minutes or less when I am waiting for my dinner, I choose painting or the newspaper to sitting idle," he smiles. "Art helps you to get more out of life than the average person. I can never stop painting and I am lucky that there are many experienced doctors at my Center who are good at some form of art or another."