When patient is a virtue

• Landing in Kerala to meet his prospective father-in-law, Dr Andrew Wallace had an ace up his sleeve. He was sure that a certain name on his CV would help him break the ice with the family of Suzanne Elizabeth — a fellow orthopaedic surgeon from India whom he wished to marry. Having successfully operated Sachin Tendulkar and relieved him of his tennis elbow pain, it was time to enjoy the perks. He had received professional fame by treating the star batsman and now he was to realise that his celebrity association would also make it easier for him to ask a cricket-fan father his daughter's hand. Sitting in his central London clinic, the Australian-born doctor laughs while reminiscing the smooth meeting-the-parents event from five years ago, once Tendulkar's name cropped in that conversation. Wearing a mundu on the wedding day at Kottayam breaks his grin into a chuckle. Both before and after the wedding, the doctor couple have worked together for all operations and consultations relating to Indian cricket. "She has assisted in all the operations we have done. When we have these high profile cricketers, it is always nice to have two good brains working on the same problem," he says. Apart from Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag is the other high-profile Indian cricketer who has gone under the shoulder specialist's knife, while Rahul Dravid, Praveen Kumar, Robin Uthappa and S Sreesanth are among the many others who have met him for consultation. But it was the most famous tennis elbow in the world that claimed international fame for Dr Wallace. Shortly after Tendulkar suffered the injury in 2004, one of Dr Wallace's oldest acquaintances John Gloster — the then Team India physio and a colleague from the doctor's Surrey cricket days — called to seek an appointment. "My clinic is close to Lord's, so it turned out to be quite convenient for Sachin. He has family friends here so he decided to have treatment with us. Fortunately, everything went well. So when Tendulkar suffered a shoulder problem, he decided to come back to us," he says.
• Eye-opener It was only when he started treating Tendulkar did Dr Wallace realise the extent of his patient's rock star status, getting a first-hand feel of the obsessive fan-following that the cricketer had in India, and around the world. And a pre-operation meeting at Jaipur proved to be a real eye-opener. Walking from his hotel room to the lobby with Tendulkar and Gloster in tow, the doctor was shocked like never before. The meeting was said to be a discreet affair, but as they stepped out of the escalator, the surgeon ran into a wild clatter of flashes, and about 50 photographers. Tendulkar remained unfazed, but Dr Wallace didn't. Things only got worse as the date of the surgery — Tendulkar was operated at the St John's & Elizabeth Hospital in London — approached. "There were five camera crews, 150 phone calls, 180 emails and the hospital had to appoint a special PR agency just to manage the situation," says the man who restored an elbow that has been the fulcrum of Indian cricket for two decades. But did working on a high-profile professional sportsperson make him a nervous doctor? Not quite, says the man who performs close to 450 shoulder operations a year. Also, his patient-list mainly includes rugby players and aging football goalkeepers. And how about if something goes wrong? Dr Wallace explains that for anyone who seeks his expertise, he first floats both the pros and cons of going under the knife, ensures that the right diagnosis is made, and most importantly, secures the fact that complete healing and rehabilitation is done before the player takes field. Just ask Sehwag, who is constantly in touch with the doctor as he is presently undergoing the last and most vital part of his shoulder treatment."He had a revision operation, so the recovery time is slower. And there is huge pressure on him to return because he has been carrying that injury for some time. He is back now in Bangalore, his throwing programme is running quite well," he says. "It's been a little slower than expected but things are moving in the right direction." 
• Famous friends So has he become friends with these sport stars? Yes, for several heart-to-heart discussions with low-morale injured professionals has seen Dr Wallace develop a close bond and rapport that goes beyond the operation theatre. In fact, Dr Wallace almost always ends up intensely following his patient's on-field careers after recovery. He also confesses to cringing when he sees a player he has treated diving around the sports field.The players too have shown their deep appreciation for the doctor. In Dr Wallace's living room are bats signed by Tendulkar, Sehwag and plenty of other Indian cricketers. But considering the current spate of injuries in the Indian dressing room, the doctor's living room might just run completely out of space. Source: Indian Express

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