New Delhi, May 24 (IANS): Former AIIMS Director and internationally renowned surgeon M.C. Misra has been awarded the honorary fellowship of prestigious Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, a first for an Indian doctor in the last five years.

The announcement was made on Tuesday evening.

"It is with great pleasure, we write on behalf of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to invite you to accept the award of fellowship ad hominem (Honorary fellowship)," reads the letter for Misra to convey the honour by the premier organisation.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an organisation dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice, through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical workforce.

The Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh is one of the oldest surgical corporations in the world and traces its origins to 1505 when the Barber Surgeons of Edinburgh were formally incorporated as a craft guild of Edinburgh.

Today, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an international network with a membership of almost 20,000, in almost 100 countries.

Misra, also a globally renowned trauma expert, retired on January 31, 2017 after serving All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as its director for more than three years.