Dr. Brian Cole, head team physician for the Chicago Bulls and co-team physician for the Chicago White Sox will head to Kenya June 8 to share his sports medicine prowess with doctors there who desperately need proper training and equipment for treating injured athletes. Accompanied by his 14 year-old son, Ethan, and physician assistant, Kyle Pilz, and carrying more than 500 pounds of equipment donated by medical device and surgical supply companies, the Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush sports medicine physician will perform surgery on injured athletes from Africa who otherwise have limited or no access to care and educate doctors there about the latest sports medicine techniques used in the U.S. The 10-day mission trip is in collaboration with Cure International, a network of charitable hospitals and surgical programs that deliver life-changing medical care to families with treatable conditions. Many athletes there have hobbled around for years with neglected knee, shoulder and joint problems. In Kijabe, sports injuries often take a backseat to other more treatable injuries. That’s because doctors aren’t familiar with how to treat them and because of a lack of equipment and other resources. Dr. Cole and Kyle are scheduled to perform surgery on 15 to 20 patients and work with village doctors and residents to help implement a new service line for the surrounding area. "The root of what we do as orthopedic surgeons is to help people regain an active, pain-free life-style,” Dr. Cole admits. “We are lucky to live in a country that provides quality healthcare to everyone. I look forward to providing care to those who aren’t so lucky and to make a difference in their lives. I hope to leave behind a legacy of sports medicine trained physicians who will continue to change lives.” Besides his position with the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox, Dr. Cole is a professor in the Department of Orthopedics with a conjoint appointment in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Rush University Medical Center. He is the Chairman of Surgery at Rush’s Oak Park Hospital. He also oversees the Cartilage Research and Restoration Center at Rush and was selected as the "NBA Team Physician of the Year" by the NBA team physician society in 2009. Just this year, Orthopedics This Week published that, "Dr. Cole was chosen as one of the top 19 sports medicine specialists in the U.S. by his peers" and Oxford University Press identified him as one of the top 10 orthopedic surgeons in the world who have contributed to the body of scientific literature in 2012.
