What if Eduardo had been injured in Uganda?
Mar 19, 2008
THE recent injury of Arsenal striker Eduardo Da Silva was horrific and still haunts many, from England to Uganda.
By Charles Mutebi
THE recent injury of Arsenal striker Eduardo Da Silva was horrific and still haunts many, from England to Uganda.
It was horrific because the double fracture of his left fibula and left ankle joint would have forced the amputation of his foot had it not been for the physiotherapists’ first aid and top class medical surgery.
A similar injury in many other countries — and the foot would have been amputated. No need to mention that one of those countries is our very own Uganda.
Uganda might have the doctors qualified to address Eduardo’s case but the two things that particularly rescued the striker would likely go missing in a similar local need.
The medics’ immediate reallocation of all the dislocated bones and the ready ambulance that rushed Eduardo to hospital plus the subsequent surgery on his injury would not be availed in the short sequence needed to avoid the worst case.
The absence of on-pitch ambulances (at best) or first-rate upcountry hospitals would especially be detrimental.
Dr. Kato Ssebbale, who has handled injuries in the sport of cricket, says the chronic lack of equipment would eventually dictate the treatment of such injuries.
“Uganda has very qualified doctors but in most cases we don’t have the equipment to deal with such serious cases,†Ssebbale says.
“That (Eduardo) case would need quick and highly specialised intervention. In fact his operation would have to be done by not just any surgeon but a surgeon who specialises on the left ankle and we have not reached that level of specialisation,†he explains.
Ssebbale, a member of the East and Central Africa Surgeons council and now cricket association boss, noted that many Ugandan doctors worked in other countries with better facilities and ultimately pay; a situation he hoped the government would somehow put right.
Cranes’ team doctor Ronald Kisolo observes: “The truth is many of our football clubs are not serious about medicare so they don’t spend on medical personnel.â€
Kisolo, who faced an Eduardo-like scenario when Express’ Bright Kiirya suffered an open ankle dislocation in a Super League match against SC Villa in 2004, explained that most teams did not have qualified physiotherapists to start with.
“Very few clubs have the personnel who would know how to administer the necessary first aid,†he said.
Adding: “As a result the player’s injury may be made worse as an untrained person would end up doing more damage to broken ligaments and tissuesâ€.
So the black cloud of horror injuries continues to loom over the local sporting scene — well able to wreck the life of an unsuspecting sportsman.
There was a stark reminder two weeks ago: Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger’s lower left leg was amputated on March 5, because of complications from two broken bones in a crash at a World Cup race in Norway.
The 27-year-old broke his shin and fibula during a super-G event on Sunday, severely damaging blood vessels and hampering circulation which left doctors no other option when his surgery turned out partly successful.
The organisers of the race in Kvitfjell, Norway, were criticised for having low safety levels; a reference to the absence of a medical helicopter that would have rushed Lanzinger to hospital in time to possibly save his leg.
The closest Uganda has come to an onsite medical helicopter was last year when tycoon Michael Ezra made his famous airborne attendance of the Cranes versus Nigeria Nations Cup qualifier match.
However, much of the basic health facilitation has to be institutionalised before Ugandan sports can dream of reaching such high heights.
THE recent injury of Arsenal striker Eduardo Da Silva was horrific and still haunts many, from England to Uganda.
It was horrific because the double fracture of his left fibula and left ankle joint would have forced the amputation of his foot had it not been for the physiotherapists’ first aid and top class medical surgery.
A similar injury in many other countries — and the foot would have been amputated. No need to mention that one of those countries is our very own Uganda.
Uganda might have the doctors qualified to address Eduardo’s case but the two things that particularly rescued the striker would likely go missing in a similar local need.
The medics’ immediate reallocation of all the dislocated bones and the ready ambulance that rushed Eduardo to hospital plus the subsequent surgery on his injury would not be availed in the short sequence needed to avoid the worst case.
The absence of on-pitch ambulances (at best) or first-rate upcountry hospitals would especially be detrimental.
Dr. Kato Ssebbale, who has handled injuries in the sport of cricket, says the chronic lack of equipment would eventually dictate the treatment of such injuries.
“Uganda has very qualified doctors but in most cases we don’t have the equipment to deal with such serious cases,†Ssebbale says.
“That (Eduardo) case would need quick and highly specialised intervention. In fact his operation would have to be done by not just any surgeon but a surgeon who specialises on the left ankle and we have not reached that level of specialisation,†he explains.
Ssebbale, a member of the East and Central Africa Surgeons council and now cricket association boss, noted that many Ugandan doctors worked in other countries with better facilities and ultimately pay; a situation he hoped the government would somehow put right.
Cranes’ team doctor Ronald Kisolo observes: “The truth is many of our football clubs are not serious about medicare so they don’t spend on medical personnel.â€
Kisolo, who faced an Eduardo-like scenario when Express’ Bright Kiirya suffered an open ankle dislocation in a Super League match against SC Villa in 2004, explained that most teams did not have qualified physiotherapists to start with.
“Very few clubs have the personnel who would know how to administer the necessary first aid,†he said.
Adding: “As a result the player’s injury may be made worse as an untrained person would end up doing more damage to broken ligaments and tissuesâ€.
So the black cloud of horror injuries continues to loom over the local sporting scene — well able to wreck the life of an unsuspecting sportsman.
There was a stark reminder two weeks ago: Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger’s lower left leg was amputated on March 5, because of complications from two broken bones in a crash at a World Cup race in Norway.
The 27-year-old broke his shin and fibula during a super-G event on Sunday, severely damaging blood vessels and hampering circulation which left doctors no other option when his surgery turned out partly successful.
The organisers of the race in Kvitfjell, Norway, were criticised for having low safety levels; a reference to the absence of a medical helicopter that would have rushed Lanzinger to hospital in time to possibly save his leg.
The closest Uganda has come to an onsite medical helicopter was last year when tycoon Michael Ezra made his famous airborne attendance of the Cranes versus Nigeria Nations Cup qualifier match.
However, much of the basic health facilitation has to be institutionalised before Ugandan sports can dream of reaching such high heights.