Hyderabad/Brookline, February 27, 2026 — The global medical community is mourning the loss of Dr. Seshagiri Rao Mallampati, the visionary Indian-origin anesthesiologist whose simple yet revolutionary bedside test has become a cornerstone of preoperative safety worldwide. Dr. Mallampati, a proud Telugu son of Andhra Pradesh, died peacefully on February 9, 2026, at the age of 85 in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, after a long and illustrious career dedicated to advancing patient care in anesthesiology.
His passing, announced by the Andhra Medical College Alumni of North America (AMCANA) and widely reported across medical journals and Indian media, marks the end of an era for a quiet pioneer whose 1985 innovation—the Mallampati Score—continues to prevent potentially catastrophic complications during surgery every single day in operating rooms from rural Indian clinics to leading hospitals in the United States, Europe, and beyond.
A Humble Beginning and a Spark of Inspiration
Born in August 1941 in the small village of Patchalatadiparru in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, to Veeraiah Mallampati and Anasuyamma Mallampati, Dr. Mallampati grew up in modest circumstances that instilled in him a deep sense of curiosity and service. He began his medical journey in 1963 at Guntur Medical College before transferring to Andhra Medical College (AMC) in Visakhapatnam in 1965. He earned his MBBS degree in 1968 and completed his internship at King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam.
In 1971, he emigrated to the United States, where he pursued advanced training. He completed his anesthesiology residency at the Lahey Clinic Foundation and Boston Hospital for Women around 1975, followed by a clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School. He became a Diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology in 1976 and a Fellow in 1977. Over the decades, he served as an attending anesthesiologist at Boston Hospital for Women (1975–1980) and later at the prestigious Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston (from 1980 onward). He also held the position of Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School.
It was during his early years in practice that a single, tense moment planted the seed for his groundbreaking contribution. In 1975, while managing a routine Caesarean section—widely recounted in tributes and Indian media as occurring amid a high-stakes scenario in Hyderabad (or during his early US practice at Boston Hospital for Women)—Dr. Mallampati encountered an unexpectedly difficult airway. Despite optimal positioning and equipment, intubation proved challenging because the patient’s tongue obscured key oropharyngeal structures. Mother and child emerged safe, but the close call lingered with him. At the time, no reliable, quick bedside method existed to predict such “difficult airways” before anesthesia induction.
This experience drove Dr. Mallampati to systematically observe thousands of patients. He noticed that the visibility of the soft palate, faucial pillars, and uvula when a patient opens their mouth and protrudes their tongue correlated strongly with intubation difficulty. In 1983, he published a hypothesis letter in the Canadian Anaesthetists’ Society Journal. Two years later, in 1985, he and his colleagues validated it in a prospective study of 210 patients, published in the same journal. The result: the Mallampati Score (initially three classes; a fourth was added in 1987 by colleagues Samsoon and Young).
The Mallampati Score: A Simple Test That Saves Lives
The Mallampati Score is performed in seconds during preoperative assessment: the patient sits upright, opens their mouth wide, and sticks out their tongue. Based on what the clinician sees, the airway is classified into one of four classes:
Class I: Full visibility of soft palate, uvula, fauces, and pillars — easiest intubation.
- Class II: Soft palate, uvula, and fauces visible — generally straightforward.
- Class III: Only soft palate and base of uvula visible — higher risk of difficulty.
- Class IV: Only hard palate visible — significant predictor of difficult airway.
Higher classes alert anesthesiologists to prepare advanced tools like video laryngoscopes, fiberoptic bronchoscopes, or awake intubation techniques. What began as one doctor’s clinical hunch has become a mandatory global standard, taught in every medical school and used in millions of surgeries annually. Experts estimate it has quietly prevented countless airway disasters and saved millions of lives by enabling proactive planning.
Dr. Mallampati’s work was never about fame or fortune. Colleagues described him as humble, intellectually rigorous, and a dedicated mentor who inspired generations. He retired from active practice in 2017 but remained a revered figure in the field.
Tributes Pour In from India and Abroad
The news of his passing has elicited an outpouring of respect, particularly from the Telugu and Indian medical fraternity. Dr. Suresh Kankanala, General Secretary of AMCANA, said: “Dr. Mallampati’s remarkable journey from AMC to Harvard University exemplifies the excellence nurtured within AMC. His achievements bring immense pride to Andhra Pradesh and to the global AMC fraternity.”
Medical Dialogues noted that “his name will remain an absolute cornerstone of modern medical education and daily clinical practice,” while Telangana Today highlighted how the score is used “from local nursing homes in Hyderabad to the world’s most advanced surgical centres.”
On social media and professional forums like LinkedIn and Reddit’s r/anesthesiology and r/indianmedschool, anesthesiologists shared stories of how the score had directly impacted their practice. One post read: “A real one. RIP the greatest man… Thank you for giving us the Mallampati score.”
He is survived by his elder brother Butchi Rao Mallampati, elder sister Bharati Devi Davuluri, and younger sister Kusuma Kumari Cherukuri. He was preceded in death by his parents and eldest sister Rajya Lakshmi Yalavarthy. A memorial service was held on February 24, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. at 500 Canterbury St, Boston, MA.
A Lasting Legacy of Quiet Revolution
In an era of high-tech medicine—AI diagnostics, robotic surgery, and genomic breakthroughs—Dr. Mallampati’s greatest gift was profoundly low-tech: a 10-second visual check requiring nothing more than a patient’s cooperation and a clinician’s trained eye. Born from one doctor’s determination to never again be caught unprepared, it embodies the best of medicine—observation, hypothesis, validation, and selfless dissemination.
As the world of anesthesiology bids farewell to its quiet hero, his score lives on as a daily reminder that true innovation often lies in seeing what others overlook. From the villages of Andhra Pradesh to operating theaters across continents, Dr. Seshagiri Rao Mallampati’s legacy continues to breathe life into millions of patients—one tongue check at a time.
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