Dr. Venkata Karthikeyan Chokkalingam is a highly accomplished ENT – Head & Neck Skull Base Surgeon and Clinical Lead for Robotic Head & Neck Oncology at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. A former Associate Professor at AIIMS, New Delhi, he was the first ENT surgeon from India to receive the *Advanced Fellowship in Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery* at the *University of Miami, USA (2012–2014).

He has also undergone specialized training in **Transoral Laser Surgery (UK)* and *Transoral Robotic Surgery (USA). Recognized for his excellence, he received the **Kamani Charity Trust Prize for the Best Postgraduate Student in Otorhinolaryngology at AIIMS (2001)*.

Dr. Karthikeyan has pioneered several robotic and minimally invasive surgeries in India, including the country’s first *Paediatric Transoral Robotic Surgery (2017), Robotic Branchial Cyst Excision (2018), Robotic Parotidectomy (2018), and Transoral Ultrasonic Surgery (2018).

He also performed **Southern India’s first single-stage multi-level robotic surgery for OSA (2019)*. With his expertise in advanced surgical techniques, he continues to push the boundaries of ENT and head & neck surgery, offering cutting-edge treatments to patients.