Vianney Kweyamba✝

Don't miss this month's CME

In medical school, we are taught a golden rule: "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." It is a reminder to look for the common explanation before the exotic one. But after decades in cardiology, I’ve learned that if a patient is still suffering after the "horses" have been ruled out, a doctor must have the courage—and the curiosity—to go hunting for the zebra. Sarah was a thirty-four-year-old marathon runner and a devoted mother who came to me after six months of being told she was "fine." She had been bounced from one specialist to another, each one pointing to her normal EKG and standard blood tests as proof that her crushing fatigue and racing heart were simply the result of "new mom stress." By the time she reached my office, she didn't just look tired; she looked invisible, as if the medical system had stopped seeing the woman and only saw the data. Instead of re-reading the normal test results that had already failed her, I asked Sarah to walk me through her life. We talked about her training and her family, eventually landing on a backpacking trip she took to the Mendoza province of rural Argentina. She described staying in a charming, rustic cottage made of sun-dried mud bricks. She mentioned waking up one morning with a strangely swollen, purple eyelid that she assumed was a simple spider bite. As she spoke, a memory surfaced from a biography I had read years ago about Charles Darwin. Most people know Darwin for his theories on evolution, but medical historians have long puzzled over the mysterious, debilitating illness that plagued him for decades after he returned from his voyage on the HMS Beagle. Darwin had written in his journals about being bitten by the "great black bug of the Pampas" while sleeping in mud-walled huts in South America. He spent the rest of his life suffering from heart palpitations and exhaustion that the Victorian doctors of his time could never explain. I realized then that Sarah wasn't suffering from stress; she was likely hosting the same "silent killer" that may have haunted Darwin: Chagas Disease. The "Kissing Bug" lives in the cracks of those mud-brick walls. It bites its victims—often near the eyes or mouth—while they sleep, passing a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi into the blood. The danger of Chagas is that the initial symptoms disappear quickly, but the parasite can hide in the body for years, slowly weaving itself into the muscle and electrical "wiring" of the heart. To confirm this, I moved beyond the standard tests. I ordered a specialized "Strain Rate" ultrasound, which doesn't just look at whether the heart is pumping, but at how the individual muscle fibers are stretching. We saw that while her heart looked strong to the naked eye, the fibers were "stuttering," a sign of early parasite-induced scarring. A specific blood test for the parasite's antibodies confirmed the diagnosis. Treatment required a difficult, sixty-day course of anti-parasitic medication to stop the infection, paired with a protective heart regimen to keep her electrical system stable while the inflammation settled. Because we caught it before her heart was physically damaged or enlarged, the recovery was a success. Months later, Sarah returned to my office, her vibrant energy restored. She brought me a leather-bound copy of The Voyage of the Beagle with a note tucked inside. She wrote that while other doctors had looked at her charts, I had looked at her. This case remains a vital reminder for my memoir: in a world of high-tech scans and AI, the most sophisticated diagnostic tool we possess is still the human story. When we truly listen, we don't just find the disease—we find the patient. Good morning.

The SUGES Board Planning Retreat is underway. This is where strategy meets execution—our leadership team collaborating to strengthen our organisational vision and accelerate our mission. Excited about what lies ahead. #SUGES

Today is the day!

St Mark’s Surgery & Endoscopy Centre🏥 @stmarksurgery is centre of excellence in the following services... Gastrointestinal & Colorectal Surgery Gastrointestinal & Colorectal Cancer Care Diagnostic & Interventional Endoscopy Laparoscopy (key hole) Surgery Laser Colorectal Surgery General Surgery Nutritional & Digestive Healthcare Call 📲 0760883488, 0740657550 to book a consultation👨‍⚕️ stmarkssurgery.com @iddstarug, @trinityCancerUg

@KOENation @ZubyMusic 😀😀😀

@ZubyMusic Turns out, they were right all along

So, the old church ladies who called everything 'demonic' were right about basically everything?

The surgical fraternity congratulates ASOU Immediate Past President Prof. Frank Asiimwe @RubabindaJr & entire Kidney transplant team (nephrologists, nurses, laborotatory, imaging, anesthesiologists, support staff) for hitting another milestone making a total of 10 kidney transplant surgeries so far. @ASOU_Official is very proud of you all for advancing surgical care in Uganda. Thank you @MinofHealthUG @MulagoHospital @olaro_charles

Can’t wait to watch! Nice to get around the censorious western media. It’s important to hear different perspectives so that we can think critically and decide what’s true and what’s false.

Huge congratulations to our incredible General Surgeons and Neurosurgeons on successfully defending their Defence presentations last week! Your dedication, skill, and hard work continue to inspire us all. Proud moment for the entire team!

Honored to host Hon Majambere, focused and selfless leader, with a heart for the people. Kanungu people and the women at large have alot to gain through your wise leadership and counsel come 2026. Go woman Mp Kanungu.

The 4th SUGES SYMPOSIUM & AGM 2024, is on 18th October, 10 days to Go. For attendance, register with us on symposium2024.suges.org Note: Registration is strictly online, for more information, call/WhatsApp us on the number written on the flyer.

The 4th SUGES SYMPOSIUM & AGM 2024, on the 18th of October, at Kabira Country Club (Bukoto). For attendance, register with us on symposium2024.suges.org Note: Registration is strictly online, for more information, call/WhatsApp us on the number written on the flyer.

The 4th SUGES SYMPOSIUM & AGM 2024 is here, on the 18th of October, at Kabira Country Club (Bukoto). For attendance, register with us on symposium2024.suges.org Note: Registration is strictly online, for more information, call/WhatsApp us on the number written on the flyer.

Today is the day, it starts at exactly 6pm.

Registration Link: symposium2024.suges.org

Link: symposium2024.suges.org

The leadership of @elobu , the lead Surgeon/Endoscopist & Medical Director @StMarkSurgery has been pivotal in transforming @stmarksurgery into a centre of excellence in ambulatory surgery & endoscopy. we salute you. Keep on Keeping on!!!🫡 @iddstarUg @TrinityCancerUg @sandiejang