From left: Dr Edward Fuzy, Dr Jayesh Haribhai (at the back), and on the right, Dr Tino-Vito Orlandi Image:Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness (WCDHW) By completing the first fully internal bone transport and limb-lengthening reconstruction in South Africa, Tygerberg Hospital has created national medical history. This intricate limb salvage procedure, carried out in collaboration with Stellenbosch University (SU), is the only one of its kind used in both the public and private sectors in the nation. The hospital is now one of the few facilities in the world that can provide this cutting-edge procedure in a public health setting.
Tygerberg Hospital is known as a flagship tertiary facility of the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness (WCDHW). The patient, a 64-year-old former police officer, had lived with the long-term consequences of a severe gunshot injury sustained in 2018. Despite multiple surgeries elsewhere, he continued to struggle with chronic pain, an unhealed fracture, and a substantial difference in leg length that affected his quality of life.
According to the WCDHW, surgeons reconstructed a 50 mm bone defect and corrected a 30 mm limb-length discrepancy. Intraoperative fluoroscopy image showing the definitive nail being inserted and bridging the bone defect It said that the fully internal device allows surgeons to complete both bone transport and subsequent limb lengthening without external frames, improving comfort, reducing complication risks, and shortening recovery. Professor Nando Ferreira reflected on the significance of the achievement. “This operation demonstrates how far we have come in building world-class limb reconstruction capacity within the South African public sector.
