Munjed Al Muderis

2022 - 9 - 19

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Image courtesy of "The Sydney Morning Herald"

In their own words: How some patients feel let down by Munjed Al ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

I was born with a rare type of blood, the same as my mum's, and lost my leg at six weeks old when a transfusion gave me gangrene. I was such an independent ...

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Image courtesy of "The Sydney Morning Herald"

Oozing and maggots: The stories one of Australia's most celebrated ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Refugee turned high-profile surgeon Munjed Al Muderis has found wealth and fame by helping amputees walk. Many are profoundly grateful, but some rue the day ...

In relation to the team’s culture, he acknowledged there could be “robust discussions” but overall, he said the team had “grown stronger and more unified” over the past 12 years. Hernandez said awareness of the procedure there was low, and proposed to change this by “mimicking American advertising activities”. Former Alfred hospital head of plastics John Anstee, who performed the very first osseointegration in Australia in 1990, acknowledges he is conservative and could be considered “old school”. “The way he spoke to you, treated you, he would humiliate you in public. I openly admit if I made a mistake to a patient, I openly apologise to the patient,” he told The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes. A year later, Urquhart was in unbearable pain and Paterson quit, citing “ideological differences” with the team. In his practice, prospective patients are assessed by a team of specialists for their suitability and given the opportunity to raise concerns. This time, though, he has no legs and deals with chronic, severe pain and a reliance on heavy-duty painkillers as he waits to have the final rod removed. He was embraced as a prized patient and promoted the procedure on the Sunshine Coast. He went to Al Muderis for help, but he claims to have been turned away time and time again. The rod fuses with the bone and protrudes through the skin to connect to a prosthetic. But in 1993, during a training exercise, he jumped from a plane and was catapulted into the ground at 75km/h.

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Image courtesy of "The Sydney Morning Herald"

Lifelong wounds: How Munjed Al Muderis operates in developing ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

The celebrity surgeon wanted to take his osseointegration procedure to the world. But in Iraq and Cambodia, some of his patients say they would never get ...

Similarly, Sina says the last he heard from Al Muderis was in 2016. Al Muderis has patients in the UK, US, Canada, Iraq, Cambodia and hopes to expand the procedure globally. Despite the signs of infection, Sina says he does not take antibiotics or medication and rather uses massage to alleviate the discomfort because she cannot afford the treatment. “The success in Iraq has been remarkably higher than the success rate in Australia,” he said. Iraq was not the first time Al Muderis had flown to a developing country to perform osseointegration. “They said it would be better after the surgery,” she says through an interpreter. Al Muderis says he provides his personal phone number to every single patient he treats, but acknowledged there are a “handful” of patients who feel abandoned after the procedure. certain patients are in a different time zone, and I may not be in the same. Al Muderis performed the surgery on her legs and personally covered the costs, but it was a failure. The following month he was in Iraq, the first of many trips. At best, it restores people’s ability to walk without the discomfort of a normal “socket” prosthetic. But in Iraq and Cambodia, some of his patients say they would never get the procedure again.

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Image courtesy of "The Age"

In their own words: How some patients feel let down by Munjed Al ... (The Age)

Many have told how the surgeon's extraordinary work changed their lives for the better, but that's not the full story. Here are some patients you have not ...

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