Dr. Carlos Sitoe

Dr. Carlos Sitoe is one of Mozambique's most experienced general surgeons, with a 19-year career centred at Hospital Central de Maputo, the country's national referral and teaching hospital. He trained through the Mozambican public health system and has built a career managing the full breadth of general surgical presentations that arrive at HCM from across Mozambique and the surrounding region. His practice is divided between elective abdominal surgery and emergency trauma surgery, reflecting HCM's dual role as the country's main elective surgical centre and its primary receiving hospital for major trauma from road traffic accidents, interpersonal violence, and industrial injuries in the greater Maputo area. Dr. Sitoe is a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), an achievement that places him among the formally credentialled surgeons recognised across the region's public health systems. He is fluent in both Portuguese and English, which enables him to engage with visiting medical students, international surgical volunteers, and overseas patients. He serves as a senior surgical supervisor for resident doctors and COSECSA trainees rotating through HCM's surgical department, and he has been involved in COSECSA's regional surgical skills training programme.

Dr. Sitoe completed his MBChB at the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo. He trained as a specialist surgeon within HCM's surgical department, completing his MMed in General Surgery at FMAM. He subsequently attained Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) through the college's regional credentialling process, which involved peer assessment and formal examination. He has attended advanced trauma life support and damage control surgery courses, including training supported by international surgical NGOs working in Mozambique.

Dr. Sitoe performs a wide range of open abdominal procedures including laparotomy for bowel obstruction and typhoid perforation, right hemicolectomy and anterior resection for colorectal cancer, gastrectomy for gastric malignancy, and splenectomy for traumatic or haematological indications. He is highly experienced in emergency trauma surgery including damage control laparotomy for penetrating and blunt abdominal injuries. His elective surgical workload includes hernia repair (inguinal, umbilical, and incisional), open cholecystectomy for gallstone disease, and appendicectomy. He also manages complex wound care and soft tissue reconstruction. HCM lacks routine laparoscopic facilities, so Dr. Sitoe's expertise is primarily in open surgical technique performed with resourcefulness in a setting where equipment and consumables may be limited.

Dr. Sitoe has contributed to surgical audit data submitted to COSECSA and has presented outcomes data from HCM's trauma and emergency surgery services at regional COSECSA meetings. He has collaborated with international surgical researchers in studies examining the epidemiology of typhoid intestinal perforation in Mozambique and the outcomes of damage control surgery in a resource-limited setting. His interest in improving emergency surgical preparedness has informed departmental triage and resuscitation protocols at HCM.

Hospital Central de Maputo is the referral destination for complex surgical cases from across Mozambique's eleven provinces as well as from patients in neighbouring Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Dr. Sitoe regularly receives referrals from district and provincial hospitals and is accessible to international patients requiring elective abdominal surgery or emergency surgical consultation in Maputo. He is able to communicate directly in English with international patients and medical colleagues. Patients seeking surgical consultation should contact HCM's surgical outpatient department. For international referrals or second-opinion consultations, written case summaries can be submitted through HCM's administration office.

Dr. Sitoe's attainment of COSECSA Fellowship is the most significant formal professional recognition in his field within East, Central, and Southern Africa. He has been acknowledged within HCM for his contribution to resident surgical training and his consistent management of the department's most challenging emergency cases. International surgical volunteers who have worked alongside him at HCM have recognised his technical skill and clinical composure under demanding operating conditions.