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DR MARCHESINI

Dr. Aldo Marchesini (b. 1941) is an Italian surgeon living and working in Mozambique. He has HIV, which he got through his work in 2002. Currently Dr. Marchesini is based in Quelimane, where he has lived since 1981 and works as a surgeon and a physician in town's hospital. Dr Marchesini arrived in Africa for the first time in 1970.

Surgeons sometimes cut themselves during surgical operations; Dr. Marchesini contracted HIV through such accident. However, Dr. Marchesini hasn't stopped working, nor returned to live in Italy. He continues leading his busy life, taking every day his antiretroviral drugs that nowadays allow patients to live perfectly normal life. He also has never tried to hide his illness. At the time when he got infected, the therapy was free in Italy but not in Mozambique, but he didn't feel he could've left his Mozambican patients. Not long afterwards he had found out about his own HIV positivity, he managed to set up in Quelimane a day hospital for AIDS patients with the help of community of Sant'Egidio, which already had a hospital like that in Maputo, Mozambique's capital. Today antiretroviral therapy is free also in Mozambique.

Dr. Marchesini is specialized in vesico-vaginal fistulas, repairing operations of which he both carries out and teaches around Mozambique as much as he can. In remote areas it's common that women give birth to their babies at home, but if during delivery complications emerge, a Caesarean section or other advanced help can't be provided immediately and the closest hospital may be far away and/or there may not be transport available. Besides being a dangerous situation for both baby and mother in many ways, the baby's head may start putting pressure on the urinary bladder preventing the blood circulation. The bladder's tissue dies, fistula is being formed and bladder won't retain the urine. In addition to being a very uncomfortable problem, it also has effects on women's social lives; they don't want to go out, they husbands may abandon them and they may remain isolated in their community.

Dr. Marchesini is one of the experts in operations that close the fistulas that allow the women to restart the normal life. Every year he organizes “surgery campaigns"; he goes either together with the Quelimane hospital team, or alone to other hospitals around the country, for a week approximately in each hospital, where besides performing the surgeries himself, he teaches it to local surgeons. The women in the nearby area are informed about these campaigns through radio and local healthcare professionals. The operation is performed in general anesthesia and usually succeeds in repairing the bladder permanently.

On 12 Jun 2014 Dr. Marchesini received 2014 United Nations Population Award for his work.

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Dr. Marchesini performing a fistula surgery.
Dr. Marchesini discussing with Dr Hilda da Conceição, one of the surgeons who participated in his intensive fistula course in...
Dr. Marchesini explaining the operation to a patient.
Dr. Marchesini in the corridor outside the operation room keeping records of the surgical operations already made and the pat...
Dr. Marchesini supervising Dr. Angelo performing a fistula surgery; anesthesis doctor (on the left) monitoring the patient.
Dr. Marchesini and two instrument operators waiting for the next patient to be ready.
Dr. Marchesini's notes with drawings of the individual fistulas during the preliminary exams carried out to the fistula patie...
Dr. Marchesini back at home in Quelimane, writing a report about the week in Alto Molócuè and the fistula surgeries.
Dr. Aldo Marchesini must take antiretroviral drugs every day due to the HIV virus.
Dr. Marchesini preparing for a surgery.
Pre-examination for vesico-vaginal fistula operations at Central Hospital of Beira (Sofala). The operations were nearly cance...
Dr. Marchesini discussing with a patient.
Two teams operating contemporaneously in an operating theatre. The surgeons, including Dr. Marchesini were three altogether, ...
Dr. Marchesini sorting medicines and instruments shipped to him recently. He was particularly glad for the intravenous antibi...
Father Fransisco doing a haircut in the dining room. Dr. Marchesini returned from Alto Molócuè in the afternoon and is leavin...
Dr. Marchesini and nurse Paola preparing a patient for medical ultrasound.
One of the minivan's tyres basically exploded on the way to Alto Molócuè. Luckily the driver managed to stop the car without ...
Dr. Marchesini has been visiting Quelimane's prison for several years now. First he went there only as a doctor, but when the...
As soon as Dr. Marchesini shows up at the hospital area, he's surrounded by people who either ask him money (that he often gi...
The Dehonian fathers have a small chapel in their house where they celebrate the mass usually every morning.
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