The life and times of Prof. K. V. Chaubal and the history of modern orthopaedics in India are interwoven in such a manner that they are almost inseparable. Prof. Kedarnath Vasudeo Chaubal was born on the 12th of November 1927 and had a cultured middle-class upbringing. He completed his MS in General Surgery from the Nair Hospital & T. N. Medical College, but was inclined to follow Orthopaedics. He went to England in 1957 to pursue his FRCS. While working at the Stockport Infirmary, Dr. Harold Bolton took a liking for the young doctor and took him under his wing. Prof. Chaubal not only learned complex surgery of the hand under his mentor but also received a strong recommendation from Dr. Bolton landing him a Registrar's job at the Manchester Royal Infirmary under Sir Lloyd Griffiths and Sir John Charley. This was supposed to be an impossible feat even for a bright British Resident, let alone an Indian.

He then joined M. Ch. at Liverpool, where he worked with Dr. Dwyer (known for the Dwyer Calcaneal Osteotomy) and Dr. Jeff Osborne. During his stay in England, he also had a brief interaction with Prof. Reginald Watson-Jones. He first worked as an Honorary at the St. George's Hospital in Mumbai, going on to work at the Nair Hospital in 1964. He was also an Honorary Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Parsi General Hospital, where he attended to 90% of the hospital's Orthopaedic patients, the rest 10% being divided among the Parsi Orthopaedic Consultants. In 1963, Professor Chaubal was an active member of the I. O. A. and advocated its separation from the Association of Surgeons of India. He went on to form the Bombay Orthopaedic Society along with his Orthopaedic contemporaries.

In 1968, a senior Spine Surgeon from Toronto came to perform the first Scoliosis surgery in Mumbai at the Nair Hospital in Dr. Chaubal's Unit. On the eve of the surgery, Prof. Chaubal got a call from the hospital, stating that the patient posted for the surgery had B Rh. negative blood group, which was unavailable. In the face of such a calamity, a lesser mortal would have given up, but Prof. Chaubal, who was also incidentally B Rh. negative donated him a bottle of his blood at 7 AM in the morning and reached the operation theatre at 8 AM to assist in the case. This is the history of Scoliosis Surgery in Mumbai.

Dr. Chaubal was one of the first to perform a variety of surgeries on the Spine, including Anterior Corpectomy, Scoliosis Surgery, Occipitocervical Fusions and surgery for O. P. L. L. in an era when implants for the Spine were still unavailable in India. During his illustrious tenure, he delivered many prestigious orations like the Katrak Oration in 1986, The Sant Oration, The A. K. Talwalkar Oration and the prestigious Kini Memorial Oration of the Association of Surgeons of India. However, he always felt that peer recognition, patient's faith and the love of his students often superseded any of his academic achievements and awards. He firmly believes that there is a significant difference between what one wants and what one needs; that one should be happy serving patients, even if it gets him three square meals a day. He reiterates that like life, Orthopaedics is a balance between what to do and when to let go and a true Orthopaedic Surgeon is the one who realizes this difference and leads a principled life.