How bitter disputes end or get resolved depends on the tempers of the persons involved. The gravity of the anger sometimes leads to weird conclusions.
When stationed in Mubende Hospital in 1971-72, I was called to the Mbale court for a medico-legal case. I was asked to identify the lady in the stand and testify that she had been my patient earlier at Kapchorwa Hospital when I worked there. When I finally saw her, I couldn't help but feel amazed.
The lady had come to me months before with a bloody wound over the tip of her nose, the result, as I was told, of a nasty dispute. As I examined it, I was horrified to see that this was actually a human bite. Some of the skin and subcutaneous tissues were missing. This was a very suitable case for cosmetic surgery, but sadly that was not available in remote Ugandan hospitals. But I had to do something. I took the patient to the theater and under local anesthesia, surgically repaired the wound.
I repaired the wound as best as I could, and it wasn't bad at all. But the final shape of the tip of nose was not all that satisfactory cosmetically as it might have been under the expert hands of a plastic surgeon. But that was the best I could do under the circumstances. Recovery was uneventful, and I forgot about the case till I saw the lady in the court.
I was amazed to see her reconstructed nose. The lady had finally taken the culprit to the court for the bite and was demanding compensation and punishment. I finally had an opportunity to take a closer look and found that my effort, after all, was not that bad. Her appearance was fair and the nose was not so crooked as I had thought earlier.
It was indeed satisfying to see her recovered with little disfiguration...
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