Dr. Rienzie Peiris – In the theatre, he was meticulous
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Rienzie Peiris passed away on December 12, 2018.
My association with Rienzie goes back to January 1972 when I assumed duties as Senior House Officer, in his unit at the General Hospital, Colombo. At that time, Rienzie was the Senior Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. He was at the peak of his professional life.
As an Orthopaedic Surgeon, he had no equal and, his reputation had spread islandwide. His clinical judgement was flawless; his ability to decide when to undertake surgical treatment was near perfect. The timing of surgical treatment was of paramount importance in the management of children suffering from the effects of poliomyelitis, a very common problem at that time in Sri Lanka.
He was a surgeon with exceptional skill. On many occasions he would modify an established surgical procedure to suit the needs of a particular patient. In the operating theatre he was meticulous; he was neat and showed an abundance of natural flair. On numerous occasions he told his junior staff that a surgical operation should not only be effective, it must in addition be pleasing to the eye of an observer.
Rienzie was an outstanding teacher, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His assessment of patients was based mainly on deductions arrived at from first principles, an attribute he acquired during his overseas training at the Mecca of Orthopaedic Surgery in Liverpool, UK. He combined his vast experience, with clarity of thought and presented Orthopaedics in an uncomplicated format to the student.
He did lucidly describe the mechanics of fracture treatment based on general principles. As a result, his unit at the General Hospital in Colombo was much sought after by surgeons in training. There are scores of Sri Lankan Surgeons worldwide who had been trained under Dr. Rienzie Peiris. These numbers alone stand testimony to his skill as a teacher.
As a colleague, he commanded enormous respect from both senior and junior members of the profession. He did not hesitate to share his expertise with his juniors. Rienzie never stopped learning. He did not sit back and be complacent. He kept abreast of the current trends in the specialty, carefully reading through the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (which was the only recognised journal in Orthopaedic Surgery at that time). He was easily accessible, and was always ready to offer advice to sort out a difficult problem in orthopaedics.
Another facet to Rienzie’s life was his leadership qualities. As President of the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) he exhibited this quality in abundance. During his tenure as leader of the AMS he gained many privileges for the profession. None obtained by the threat of trade union action, but by repeated negotiations and effective lobbying. Rienzie’s finest hour as President of the AMS would undoubtedly be, when after a prolonged period of negotiations he succeeded in obtaining the right for consultants in the government sector to engage in private practice. All medical specialists in government hospitals today practising their specialty in the private sector should be eternally grateful to him.
After retirement, he continued to practise as an Orthopaedic Surgeon in the private sector. Later he took on an entirely different role. At the request of the then President of the country Mr J.R. Jayewardene, Rienzie took to administration. He was appointed as the first Chairman of the newly established Sri Jayawardene Hospital in Kotte. His influence on the Board did much to guide the hospital during its early years, enabling it to achieve the current status as a centre of excellence.
Rienzie was the ultimate family man. He loved and protected his family unequivocally and selflessly. I have no doubt that his wife Celia, daughters Dinali and Sharmini and the other members of the immediate family will miss him.
Rienzie stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries. He was one in a generation, the likes of whom we will rarely see again. He was indeed a remarkable person.‘
“His life was gentle, and the
elements
so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world.
This was a man!”
Chanaka Wijesekera