CAPE TOWN, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's Tygerberg Hospital, in partnership with Stellenbosch University, has completed the country's first fully internal bone transport and limb-lengthening reconstruction surgery.

The procedure was performed on a 64-year-old former police officer who had lived with the consequences of a severe gunshot wound sustained in 2018, the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health and Wellness said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Despite several operations, he continued to suffer chronic pain, a persistent non-union fracture and a significant leg-length discrepancy.

Surgeons reconstructed a 50 millimeter bone defect and corrected a 30 millimeter discrepancy using a Fitbone transport nail, an internal device enabling both bone transport and limb lengthening to be done internally without external frames.

The method is expected to improve patient comfort, reduce complications and shorten recovery time, the statement said.

The operation was led by Nando Ferreira, head of the Clinical Unit for Tumor, Sepsis and Reconstruction at Tygerberg Hospital.

"This operation demonstrates how far we have come in building world-class limb reconstruction capacity within the South African public sector. For patients who have lived for years with chronic pain and disability, advanced internal bone transport offers a genuine second chance at normal function," Ferreira said.

Edward Fuzy, another member of the surgical team, said the technique allows them to tackle complex bone loss in a single operation while avoiding many of the complications of traditional approaches.

The newly regenerated bone is expected to form over roughly 100 days, followed by several months of consolidation, the statement said. Enditem