The Pioneer of Gentle Gynaecology

Born in New Delhi, Malvika Sabharwal graduated MBBS from Lady Hardinge Medical College and completed her postgraduate diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the same institution and further training at Government Medical College, Patiala. She then specialised in advanced endoscopic techniques—learning laparoscopy under Dr. Adam Magos at the Royal Free Hospital in London and hysteroscopy under Dr. Wamsteker in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

Returning to India, she became one of the early champions of minimally invasive gynaecological surgery. At Jeewan Mala Hospital and later with the Apollo group’s Nova Specialty Hospitals, she performed thousands of laparoscopic hysterectomies and complex endoscopic procedures. Her team achieved a world record by removing the largest recorded uterine fibroid—6.5 kilograms—through laparoscopy while preserving the patient’s reproductive organs. Over more than three decades she has completed over 50,000 surgeries and trained countless young doctors through FOGSI-accredited programmes in laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.

She has served as President of the Delhi Gynae Endoscopy Society and remains an active member of national and international societies dedicated to endoscopic surgery, fertility and women’s health. She has also organised free health camps for women and children across the city.

In 2008 the Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri for her contributions to medicine. Married to Dr. Vinay Sabharwal, she continues to practise in New Delhi with the same quiet determination that first brought advanced keyhole surgery to Indian women.

In operating theatres where large fibroids are removed through tiny incisions and patients return home within days rather than weeks, the gentle revolution she helped lead continues—restoring health, fertility and dignity with skill and compassion.