MUMBAI: He gave the world the design for a heart valve almost half a century ago, but is still fighting for pension from the Maharashtra government .

Dr B R Kalke , acknowledged as one of the forefathers of Indian open heart surgery, retired in 1985 from the civic-run Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central after starting out at KEM Hospital in 1958. For 12 years in between, he worked with state government hospitals, including J J Hospital in Byculla, and completed a PhD from the University of Minnesota .

But his fruitful stint spanning BMC, state and American hospitals is tinged with several painful memories. For one, Dr Kalke, who is 86 years old, has been dragged to the Supreme Court by the state government. The state, which hasn't given him a paise in pension, has moved the apex court against a Bombay high court judgment of 2012 in the doctor's favour.

For Dr Kalke, who lives in the BMC Colony at Haji Ali, the state's snub is a continuation of his American saga. While studying at University of Minnesota under Dr C Walton Lillehei (father of open heart surgery) between 1964 and 1968, Dr Kalke designed a heart valve-a twin-leaf structure as against the ball-and-cage valve available then-that changed the world of cardiac treatment.

"I observed in the US that many patients returned with infection a few months after surgery.'' That is when the safety gates of bunds constructed to keep out creek water in his native village of Kasheti in Ratnagiri came to his mind. "The bund's gates were fixed on a frame with open hinges and reacted to sea water pressure. When high tide came in, the gates would close and open when the tide receded.'' Dr Lillehei's team constructed Dr Kalke's bi-leaflet valve that worked efficiently during clincal trials.

Unfortunately for Dr Kalke, the state sent a telegram asking him to rejoin work immediately. Although his guide sought an extension, he got a final notice from the state four months later. He rushed back to rejoin as head of cardiothoracic surgery at J J Hospital in 1968.

Events over the next few years robbed him of the greatest legacy ever: the multinational company that manufactured the bileaflet heart valve prosthesis along with Dr Lillehei has never acknowledged his contribution. Only in 2009 did an article in Annals of Thoracic Surgery acknowledge Dr Kalke's "pioneering work'' on the valve (it said few in India knew of his contribution). "Over three million bileaflet valves must have been implanted in patients across the world but the doctor hasn't got a dollar for his work,'' said an ex-student from Nair Hospital. Dr Kalke is happy, though, that "millions have benefited from my creation".

He tried taking the MNC to court in the US but the long-distance fight never worked, he said. The doctor instead took the BMC and state to court over pension in 1993. The BMC, after a protracted battle, gave him a cheque of Rs 80,000 for actuals without interest. The battle with the state continues. His lawyer, S Nebade, said the case is not only about pension but about interpretation of pension rules.

Laid low by a back problem, he says his wife believes his gravest mistake was returning to India. "My guide had asked me to take up a job with him, but I wanted to serve my country."

