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No short cut to success, says female surgeon

DUBAI - There is no short cut to success, says Dr Rehana Mohammed Ali Shah, the only female orthopaedic surgeon in the UAE and Pakistan. "I have worked hard to reach where I am today," says Dr Shah, a woman struggling in a man's world.

Dr Shah, who has recently shifted from Karachi's famous Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where she worked as head of Department and Associate Professor, Orthopaedic Department, to Sharjah's Al Qasimi Hospital, says that the field is a challenge for her.

"Though I specialised in General Surgery, I was spurred on to take up this field in 1991 by my husband Dr Mohammed Ali Shah, who is also a famous orthopaedic surgeon in Karachi," she says. "This way, I became the only female orthopaedic surgeon in Pakistan," she added.

Dr Shah explained that most women in Pakistan, and several other regions of the world, consider orthopaedics to be a man's forte. "There is a lot of tugging, twisting and sewing to be done in this field that is the reason why women avoid it," she said. "But for me it is a challenge because I have mastered the technique," she added.

Speaking about her experience in Sharjah's Al Qasimi Hospital, which she joined a year back, Dr Shah said that most cases at the hospital were accident-related and very different from those in Pakistan. Dr Shah, who specialises in trauma, says an average bone setting operation takes up to 5-6 hours.

She added that there was less infection in treated cases in the UAE because of the cleanliness maintained in hospitals and the heavy doses of antibiotics administered by doctors here.

"I deal with many cold orthopaedic cases daily including birth defects, joint aches, back aches," she says. Dr Shah said that the number of such patients was rising because of the modern lifestyle. "The change in lifestyle is affecting aged females more, especially after menopause. This is all because of a poor diet," she said, adding that women suffer from chronic backaches, weight problems, high blood pressure, diabetes and other related problems.

Dr Shah said that after menopause, women usually suffer from knee-related problems caused by lack of calcium. "This leads to Total Knee Replacement which is very painful and also needs physiotherapy," she said.

Suggesting a solution, Dr Shah said that women should include milk, bananas, green vegetables, water in their diet. "I also suggest that women leave their sedentary lifestyle and make walking a daily routine," she said.

Dr Shah plans to establish an all-female general hospital in Karachi. "All the staff will be female because I know of several female patients who would appreciate this," she added.