BENGALURU: In 2002, Bangladesh national cricket team captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza underwent a knee surgery at HOSMAT hospital, Magrath Road. He was 18 then.Fifteen years later, doctors at HOSMAT rejoiced at seeing Mortaza play in the Champions Trophy in the UK. He had an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee and a meniscal tear that was repaired by Dr Thomas Chandy, director and HOD of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine of HOSMAT.
Eight months after the surgery Mortaza had started bowling again. Ligament tears are common in sportspersons, especially cricketers, footballers and motorcyclists. “In the World Cup a couple of years later, Mortaza was instrumental in bowling out four or five cricketers, that made India lose. I met him again after a few years and he was fine.
National level sportspersons who play basketball, football, kabadi are advised to have a patellar tendon graft. Those into recreational sports are advised a hamstring graft. I have operated upon 15 to 18 national level sportspersons and treated around 150. My job is to fix them up, irrespective of their nationality,” said Chandy.
On Monday, Mortaza
was quoted as saying to the media, “Doctors and labourers are the real stars and not
cricketers,” and Dr Chandy agrees.