Growing up in Cala, Dr Luphiwo Mduzana was fascinated by the mountains and rock formations that surrounded his home.
He wanted to understand how they were formed and initially set his sights on studying geology. But family expectations led him down a different path — one he would later abandon before ultimately finding his place in a little-known but critical field.
Today, Mduzana is one of SA’s leading specialists in orthotics and prosthetics, and the first in the country to earn a PhD in the discipline after recently graduating in health science rehabilitation from Stellenbosch University.
The 40-year-old, now head of department for rehabilitation medicine at Walter Sisulu University, is using his position to push for reform in a sector he believes remains underdeveloped — particularly in rural areas.
His journey into the profession was far from straightforward.
After completing matric at Nyanga Senior Secondary School in Ngcobo, Mduzana enrolled at the then-University of Transkei to study medicine at his mother’s insistence.
“I’d be lying if I said I thought about it. It was two worlds colliding in the sense that my mother wanted me to be a medical doctor,” he said.
After two years, he dropped out.
“I told myself this was not what I wanted to do and left.”
A chance encounter with a newspaper advert in 2006 changed everything. It offered bursaries for students to study orthotics and prosthetics at a medical college in Tanzania.
Though he initially knew little about the field, the combination of engineering and medical science quickly appealed to him.
“To me it meant my mother’s dream was going to come true and my own dream was going to come true as I would be engineering something in medicine,” he said.
“There is a lot of engineering that goes into making a prosthetic leg and at the same time, you need to know anatomy and physiology. For me it suited what I wanted to do.”
Despite his success, Mduzana said the profession still faces significant challenges.
He expressed concern that while more students are graduating in the field, there are limited opportunities for them — particularly in the public sector.
“The profession is not going to grow if the government does not invest, but even with that investment, we still need to have a plan of what needs to be done,” he said.
It means I want to shine the spotlight on the profession, to assist children from previously disadvantaged communities to get better opportunities
Mduzana said the Eastern Cape has only three public facilities offering orthotic and prosthetic services — in Mthatha, Gqeberha and KuGompo City — all established before 1994.
This has left many patients travelling long distances for treatment.
“For instance, people in Lusikisiki travel to Mthatha for services, while government could easily build a similar centre there,” he said.
“People in Joe Gqabi, in Barkly East and Sterkspruit travel days to get to KuGompo City. There is a hospital there, so why can’t it be used to provide the service?”
He said the lack of infrastructure also limits job opportunities for graduates, raising questions about how the sector can absorb new professionals.
Mduzana is also working to address cultural perceptions that discourage the use of prosthetics, particularly in rural communities.
He said some families still hide children with disabilities, while others avoid prosthetic devices due to misconceptions about their impact on cultural beliefs.
“There are communities where people believe prosthetics will affect their transition to becoming ancestors,” he said.
He added that some conditions, such as scoliosis, are still misunderstood and attributed to causes like witchcraft, rather than recognised as medical issues that can be treated.
“People do not know there are people like me who went to school to learn about these things,” he said.
“For me, that is what this PhD means. It means I want to shine the spotlight on the profession, to assist children from previously disadvantaged communities to get better opportunities.”
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.