Prof. Dr. S. M. Idris Ali

Broken bones just look like jagged white lines on the X-ray films. Prof. Dr. S. M. Idris Ali looks at a lot of them. He is a professor of orthopedics. MBBS and MS. He probably holds the black sheets up to the ceiling light because the light box on his desk is broken. People come in with crushed ankles from motorcycle crashes. Or older women who slipped on wet tiles. He just sits there. Tracing the fracture with the back of his pen. He tells them they need plates and screws. Or maybe just a heavy plaster cast. Depends on the break. He teaches the medical students too. They stand around his desk taking notes. He shows them how to check for a pulse near a shattered knee. Just basic stuff.

The ortho OT sounds more like a carpentry shop. Drills whining. Hammers hitting metal pins. He does the big surgeries. Hip replacements. Putting thick metal rods inside thigh bones. Takes a lot of physical strength. He probably sweats a lot under the heavy lead apron they wear for the C-arm machine. The nurses hand him the bone nibblers. He cuts away the bad pieces. Screws the metal plates tight. Sort of messy work. Plaster dust gets everywhere. On his shoes. On the floor tiles. He finishes the case. Takes off the heavy apron. His back probably hurts a bit. He washes his hands with that pink liquid soap. Dries them on a towel. Walks out.