Body Work
Cobb
orthopedist known for his difficult cases reknits Nigerian's
bones using a Russian technique
TUCKER MCQUEEN
Samuel
Obande remembers reading the newspaper in the back
seat of his car. In a blink, his driver swerved to avoid
a motorcyclist and wrapped the car around a tree.
The
crash killed the driver and critically injured Obande.
He tried to get out, but his legs were shattered.
He had 50 percent tissue loss below the right knee and
faced amputation. The prognosis for his left leg, with
a severe fracture and bone loss, wasn't good either.
Two months later, the 41-year-old is recovering in a
Marietta hospital, thousands of miles from where he was
injured in Nigeria. He keeps a Bible and a pink envelope,
filled with pictures of his injuries and the accident
scene, on his bed stand.
While he is recovering, Obande
lives with his wife, Bridget, and a son at a relative's
house in east Cobb. His cousin, Ochebu Onazi Obande,
told him about Dr. William Terrell with Pinnacle Orthopaedics.
The WellStar Kennestone Hospital surgeon specializes
in tackling the most difficult cases of bone reconstruction.
Obande, in traction in a hospital in the Nigerian capital
of Abuja, searched the Internet for information about
Terrell. He was impressed by the surgeon's track record
and flew to Atlanta in early February.
Obande is paying
for all of his medical costs, including $7,000 for the
four airline seats he needed for room for a stretcher.
Obande, who said he was in the federal house of representatives
in Nigeria from 1999 to 2003, worries about recent unrest
in his country. He said his government is calling for
calm and control after sectarian violence between Christians
and Muslims and militant attacks against foreign oil
companies. He said getting his health back will allow
him to return to his country and find a job.
Terrell
said Obande is doing well after surgery and a follow-up
procedure. He is scheduled to be released from the hospital
this week but will return for a skin graft on his left
leg. It will take about a year for his injuries to heal,
but his surgeon expects his patient to regain complete
mobility.
"This procedure is not widely practiced, but it
is nothing short of amazing," said
Terrell. "This is why I come to work every day."
The
surgeon drilled stainless steel pins the size of small
pencils into the broken bone fragments of Obande's left
femur. He attached the opposite ends of the pins to the
edges of rings connected along a frame encircling the
leg. The circular box holds the broken bones in a correct
anatomical position.
Last week, Terrell inserted a titanium rod more than
a foot long into Obande's leg to also stimulate healing.
Terrell, 43, learned the Ilizarov procedure, named after
a Russian doctor, at a hospital where it was developed
in Siberia. He does six or more surgeries a week to repair
fractures that have not healed properly, lengthen limbs
and correct deformities from congenital defects and trauma.
He does not do the surgery strictly for cosmetic reasons.
Dr. Rob Harris, orthopedic residency program director
at the Atlanta Medical Center, said only a few surgeons
in the state do the procedure, and Terrell is considered
the expert.
"This surgery is technically difficult and takes
a long time to get results," Harris
said. "He has the drive and passion and is able
to achieve a salvage in the most difficult cases."
Dr.
Robert Bruce, a pediatric surgeon at Emory Orthopaedics & Spine
Center, knows of four surgeons in Georgia who do bone-lengthening
and deformity correction, and one is moving to California.
Bruce said he has done 300 to 400 procedures since 1994
and 70 percent were on children.
"It's a pretty small pond," said Bruce. "There
aren't many of us who do this. There are pitfalls and
perils. You have to be able to handle them."
Jim
Thomas of Smith & Nephew, the company that supplies
hardware for the procedure, works with Terrell during
the surgeries. He said the surgeon thrives on the difficult
stuff, the horrible cases.
"He is like the guy who gets the call to go in
and disarm a bomb," said
Thomas. "He loves to fly in his cape and save the
day."
Obande credits Terrell with saving his legs
but thinks of him more as a good friend and a brother.
He said his day is not complete without seeing him.
"He is wonderful, I have no complaints," Obande said. "Some
days are tough, but I know I will walk again and get
my life back. I didn't know that two months ago."
Copyright
2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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