People
Wits lecturer on list of SA's 100 most influential young people
March 20th, 2019 A Wits University lecturer in the department of haematology and molecular medicine has been named as one of the 100 Most Influential Young People in South Africa for 2018. The ranking of young professionals is organised by Avance Media, a PR...
UCT heart surgeon awarded Austria's highest national accolade
March 13th, 2019 Professor Peter Zilla, head of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Chris Barnard division of cardiothoracic surgery, has been awarded Austria’s highest national accolade, the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of...
Doctor dies while participating in Cape Cycle Tour
March 13th, 2019 Tributes have poured in for gynaecologist and obstetrician Dr Monty Brink, who died while participating in the Cape Town Cycle Tour on Sunday. News24 reports that his former patients described him as a caring and kind doctor who went the extra...
Smallest baby ever to survive goes home
March 6th, 2019 A baby boy, thought to be the smallest ever to survive, weighing 268g at birth, has finally been sent home from hospital. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph the baby boy from Japan weighed just 268g when he was born 16 weeks early last...
Woman with a heart in a rucksack dies from transplant complications
March 6th, 2019 Rebecca Henderson, who carried an artificial heart in a rucksack after her own was removed, has died from transplant complications. BBC News reports that Henderson, 24, from Bicester, was given the green light to receive a donor organ after...
Never travel without a pocket knife and a basting needle
February 27th, 2019 A surgeon used a pocket knife and a basting needle to perform emergency surgery that saved the life of a road accident victim, reports The Times. Dr Wimpie Odendaal was in Port Elizabeth on holiday and was the first to arrive on the scene of an...
Death at 95 of the man whose hangover gave us ibuprofen
February 6th, 2019 The man who discovered painkiller ibuprofen worked when he cured his own hangover has died aged 95. BBC News reports that Dr Stewart Adams was involved in 10 years of trials of the drug and endured a seven-year wait for it to be approved as a...
Prominent SA anti-quackery doctor and health activist dies
January 23rd, 2019 South Africa has lost a prominent doctor, activist and scientist, who campaigned against quackery and for better health regulations. News24 reports that Professor Roy Jobson has died at the age of 63. He experienced difficulty with breathing and...
Allergist colleague of Alexander Fleming reflects on his career at 106
January 23rd, 2019 Dr William Frankland, aged 106, has helped transform our understanding of allergies during his long career in medicine. A pioneer in the field, Frankland popularised the pollen count to help clinicians and patients understand what triggers their...
Appointment of new Bara CEO welcomed
January 16th, 2019 Dr Nkele Lesia's appointment as the new CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital has been welcomed by veteran health observer Jack Bloom – who hopes she tackles its deep-rooted problems head on. "This appointment is long overdue as the hospital has...
Leading oncologist dies unexpectedly after yellow fever jab
January 16th, 2019 Tributes have been paid to one of the world's leading oncologists, who has died at the age of 67, reports BBC News. Martin Gore was a professor at the Institute of Cancer Research and also worked at the Royal Marsden Hospital. The cause of his...
Musician plays guitar to aid surgeons in awake craniotomy
January 9th, 2019 Musician Musa Manzini played notes on his guitar while undergoing a Durban operation to remove a brain tumour. The Guardian quotes Dr Rohen Harrichandparsad, one of the neurosurgeons as saying that Musa Manzini’s guitar-playing helped guide...UCT professor to serve on WEF healthcare council
John Ataguba, associate professor and director of the health economics unit at the University of Cape Town has been selected to the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Health and Healthcare. Health economics is a relatively new...SA doctor elected to YPO Healthcare Industry Network Board
Dr Terrence Kommal has been elected the first African CEO to serve on the international Young Presidents Organisation Healthcare Industry Network Board. Kommal is the current network regional chair for Africa for the YPO Healthcare Industry...
SA's first black woman nephrologist
November 21st, 2018 Being the first black woman to obtain a PhD in nephrology, Dr Unati Nolubabalo Nqebelele described her achievement as bittersweet – and said she wondered why other women had not walked this path before her. “I was happy and sad at the same...