Join our latest orthohub see one / do one episode with our distinguished guest Professor Sithombo Maqungo, where we find out all about practicing surgery in South Africa.
Sithombo is the Head of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Groote Schuur Hospital and Professor at the University of Cape Town (UCT), internationally recognised for clinical excellence, research outputs, and training opportunities.
As well as being the Lead for Trauma Care and Injury Prevention at UCT, Sithombo is also President of the South African Orthopaedic Trauma Society, faculty for AO South Africa & AO Europe, the founder and Chair of Cape Town International Trauma Conference. He was previously an AO Gordon Siboto travelling fellow and has also recently been made an ABC Fellow.
His charity work includes advocating for a "Gun-free South Africa" and child safety.
In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover many different aspects of his life and career including:
- how playing tennis (and his friend's hi-fi system) was instrumental in his becoming a doctor
- his experiences of being a medical student as APARTHEID ended and Nelson Mandela became president
- what was surgical training like in Cape Town during the noughties and his medical experience as he travelled the world and how have things developed since then
- how much of trauma surgery still takes place overnight
- what does surgical training look like in South Africa
- what are the biggest challenges of practicing orthopaedics in South Africa interfacing with bone-setters, rural practices, and state-of-the-art equipment
- and the impact of gun violence, as well as measures to try and reduce this and focusing on injury prevention
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