India’s AHERF renews an academic professorship for Dr Srinjoy Saha, the only plastic surgeon among its faculty
KOLKATA, India — An educational and research foundation affiliated with one of India’s largest hospital networks has renewed an academic professorship for Kolkata plastic surgeon Dr Srinjoy Saha. The renewal represents both Dr Saha’s academic contributions and the gradual emergence of regenerative surgery in mainstream medical treatment and research.
The Apollo Hospitals Educational and Research Foundation, known as AHERF, is an academic and research organisation recognised by India’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. It was established in 2006 and confers adjunct titles on consultants for sustained work in research and teaching. It is an academic and research recognition, not a clinical or university chair.
AHERF has renewed the Adjunct Title of Professor held by Dr Srinjoy Saha, a cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon at Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals in Kolkata. The title, first conferred in 2023, now runs through 2029. According to the foundation’s 2026 list, 245 consultants across India currently hold AHERF adjunct titles, with Dr Saha the only consultant listed in plastic surgery.
The rarity of this recognition, as reflected in the official adjunct faculty records, suggests growing recognition of regenerative approaches in research and clinical discussions. His appointment represents both his individual efforts and the increasing interest in regenerative surgery as a subspecialty within plastic surgery.
Regenerative surgery applies tissue-engineering and wound-healing science to help the body rebuild its own tissue, rather than simply removing or replacing it. Its applications include chronic wounds that resist healing, reconstruction after trauma or cancer, and the restoration of lost tissue volume and function. In diabetic foot ulcers, for example, regenerative approaches such as bioengineered skin substitutes have demonstrated promise in clinical studies. Specialists caution that the techniques are not suitable for everyone and that outcomes vary between patients.
“I see this as recognition for an emerging field, and not a person,” Dr Saha said. “Regenerative surgery is still widely misunderstood. If an academic honour helps more patients and clinicians understand how we can work with the body’s own healing, that is its real value.”
The distinction matters in India, where plastic surgery is often associated narrowly with cosmetic procedures or skin grafting. Reconstructive and regenerative work — rebuilding tissue after burns, accidents or tumour removal — accounts for a major segment of the discipline. Specialists note that real-world concerns and challenges remain, including variable patient outcomes and the need for further evidence-based research to establish long-term efficacy and safety.
Dr Saha holds an MCh in plastic surgery, with a gold medal from the University of Mumbai, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He completed a Harvard fellowship in tissue engineering and wound regeneration, serves on the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ Regenerative Medicine committee, and received the PSF Achauer Award in 2017.
Dr Srinjoy Saha practices at Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals in Kolkata. His published research on regenerative and reconstructive surgery is available at srinjoysaha.com/publications.
