Professor Welani Chilengwe: The passing of a damn good surgeon

Abstract

There are surgeons, and then there are surgeons.

There are those who learn anatomy, master the instruments, cut with confidence, tie knots with speed, and walk out of theatre pleased that the operation has gone according to plan.

And then there are those rare men and women whose presence in a theatre does more than complete an operation. It steadies the room. It reassures the anaesthetist. It settles the scrub nurse. It teaches the assistant. It gives courage to the patient, even before the first incision is made.