Several years ago, when the Orthopedics International Congress was held in Cienfuegos City, I had the opportunity to talk to Doctor Rodrigo Alvarez Cambras. He decided to stop his meetings with national and international outstanding specialists, due to his extraordinary humble personality, to demonstrate his worry for something so simple like the snack for the journalists who were coverings the event. As I did not have a questionnaire prepared for the occasion, I could not interview him by then.
But better late than never, and just few days ago, I managed to get his E-mail and I proposed him to send him some questions in respect to his giant life and work. A week later, when I was feeling hopeless for the delay, I decided to send him the questions anyhow and here are his answers.
According to what I have read about you, your father wanted you to study engineering. However, you decided Medicine. What motivated you to take that decision?
My father’s illness started when I was 10 years old and he died when I was 14. He had pulmonary tuberculosis which was complicated with asthma and diabetes.
I saw him dying throwing blood in his sputum and in a terrible way. His illness ruined the little resources my mother and I had. I am an only child.
My father was originally Spanish and he wanted to be an engineer, but due to the Civil War he had to run away from Spain, because he was Republican and he was not allowed to be an engineer, responsible to build roads and bridges.
I had accepted that idea, but due to his disease, his death, I decided to become a doctor, with the purpose to cure tuberculosis in other people suffering the illness. When I finished my career, the solution for tuberculosis was already found by means of antibiotics.
When I was in the second year of my studies, I received several injuries while participating in protests against Batista’s tyranny and I was sent to Galvez’ Ward from Calixto Garcia Hospital, where I started assisting injured people, putting them in a cast and I felt in love with Orthopedics specialty.
How is any day in the life of the Professor?
Any time in my life is for work, study, devotion to my family and worries for the health of my people.
Do you consider Frank Pais Scientific International Complex of Orthopedics (Ortop) your greatest job?
At Calixto Garcia Hospital, before the Triumph of the Revolution, during Batista’s dictatorship, in Galvez Ward, which was the one for poor people, when injured patients arrived, we had to look for their medicine, the nails, and the screws, because they had no money to pay for them. Even two patients had to sleep in the same bed and on blankets in the halls.
All those things hurt the young revolutionary people in the bottom of the hearts.
Since then, I dreamt that one day; our country will be able to have a hospital where the 100 percent of the population will have medical assistance with excellence and free.
My dream came true with the Triumph of the Revolution, when one day, our Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz asked me to build in La Lisa municipality, a great hospital specialized in Orthopedics. This allowed me fulfill this task, I believe is the work of my life.
Your approach and assistance to the athletes, is it for your love to sports or your specialty in Orthopedics?
It is for both of them. On one side, I was an athlete in several sports when I was young, and as orthopedist, due to our Commander in Chief’s worry in 1970, when many athletes treated in several parts of the country, despite the good assistance, they did not return to practice the sport.
“He asked me to travel to a group of countries in 45 days, to develop the Department of Sports Orthopedics at Frank Pais Hospital, which has been very successful in the treatment of the athletes.
Ralca external fixers are used in more than 40 countries worldwide and had benefited more than 125,000 patients. Do you consider them your main scientific contribution?
The external fixers were developed while I was in Paris for two years in my studies as Assistant Professor in Orthopedics at the University of La Sorbona. There, I knew of some rudimentary fixers they were using in Europe, a lot rudimentary, but I felt in love of the idea and decided to solve the eight possibilities to be a real universal bone fixer, as soon as I arrive in Cuba.
I learned to be a lather operator with a partner and together with him; we started working in the workshop that belonged to La Tropical brewery. They borrowed it to us during the nights and we started working.
Later, we continued in the workshops from Ciudad Libertad and finally we ended in Antillana de Acero, until the first model No.1 emerged. We founded a workshop in the hospital and there we work until model 4,000 we are currently using, getting all the possibilities of the fixer, so I called it Universal Fixer Alvarez Cambras-Ralca which is at present applied in Cuba and in many countries of the world.
I sincerely believe it was one of the main scientific contributions we have done.
Many heads of States and personalities have preferred your assistance, so, you have become the Cuban ambassador in no few countries worldwide.
Our hospital was winning international prestige since the beginning of 1969, when it was founded, and I agree with you that many Presidents of States, first ministers, emirs and African and Arab leaders have demanded our services.
I think that behind my job, there is a lot of prestige the Cuban medicine has won with the international promotion given by our Commander in Chief Fidel Castro.
I always consider that inside me, there are all the doctors that for years have been prepared and have also been my collaborators.
From the 28 pages of your Curriculum I underline a line: Worker Hero of the Cuban Republic, 1992. How do you value that recognition?
For many years, our hospital has received different flags and diplomas from the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC), so in 1992 they surprised me when they called me with an invitation to the Government’s Palace, where Fidel will hand me the honorary title of Worker Hero of the Cuban Republic, together with the Orders Lazaro Pena and Carlos J. Finlay.
It was the most important moment of my life I will never forget. I received them on behalf all people who helped in my training and to those who devoted their revolutionary lives for a free, sovereign and socialist country.
Many people agree to recognize that despite your extraordinary merits and all you have achieved, you are a simple person (an example of this, is that you gave me the opportunity of this interview), what can you tell us about this?
I generally reject interviews for personal modesty. A journalist have been waiting for me for six years to write my biography, and it is hard for me to answer to his request, but when I read these questions, I thought, it could help our youth and I should answer.
Note about the author:
- Doctor Alvarez Cambras, main promoter of the outstanding development of the Cuban Orthopedics. He is a specialist surgeon of second degree and Full Professor.
- Participated as guerrilla doctor by mid 1960s in the battalion Patricio Lumumba, the second front of Che Guevara in Congo Brazzaville.
- He is academic professor assigned to 25 universities in the world and member of 19 foreign societies of Orthopedics.
