Doctor leaves his car and hoofs it to hospital to perform 'emergency' surgery on woman in pain

The notoriously brutal traffic in urban India was no match for one determined surgeon.

On August 30, Dr. Govind Nandakumar, a gastroenterology surgeon, was on his way to perform surgery at Manipal Hospital in Sarjapur, which is part of the metropolitan area of Bengaluru, population over 10 million, not far from the country's southern tip. Though Nandakumar's commute is usually 45 minutes total, traffic was so congested on that day that the final stretch itself would've taken 45 minutes, according to Google Maps.

"I commute every day from central Bangalore to Manipal Hospitals, Sarjapur, which is in the Southeast of Bangalore," Nandakumar told reporters. "I left home well in time for the surgery. My team was all set and prepared to perform the surgery as soon as I would reach the hospital."

Nandakumar didn't want to chance missing the scheduled surgery and extending the suffering of the patient. Though the surgery had been scheduled in advance, it was still considered an emergency gallbladder laparoscopy. The patient, who is said to be "middle-aged woman," also hadn't yet eaten in anticipation of the procedure.

With her pain and his professional responsibilities in mind, Nandakumar got out of his car and walked the remainder of the trip, approximately 3 kilometers, or just shy of 2 miles.

"I decided to leave the car with the driver and ran towards the hospital without thinking twice," he said.

"At that point, I just decided to walk," he continued. "I run and workout, so I used that to my advantage, crossed over the street and covered the distance of 3 kilometers in about 45 minutes."

Once Nandakumar arrived, he immediately changed into his surgical attire, and he and his team performed the surgery as scheduled. The unnamed patient has since been discharged and is reportedly recovering well.

His car is likewise doing fine. As Nandakumar has his own driver, he did not have to leave the vehicle abandoned.

He documented a brief segment of his journey, filming himself jogging in a nicely-ironed, collared shirt. The then posted the video to Instagram with the caption "Sometimes you got to do what you got todo !"