In the first surgery of its kind in the mainly rural province of Limpopo, a team led by Professor Steve Matshidze recently performed a robotic-assisted knee replacement operation at Botlokwa Level One District and Rural Hospital.
Speaking to News24 afterwards, Matshidze said at one stage they were worried they might be forced to abandon the procedure midway and continue manually, due to technical glitches, but fortunately they were able to continue.
The procedure took two hours.
“We were excited with the results, and we aim to use the procedure regularly. Because it was the first time, it took longer, but once we are familiar with the robotic surgery, it should take under an hour.”
In 2020, the province had introduced the Limpopo Rural Health Matters outreach project to reduce the backlog of surgeries.
Led by a team of specialist doctors who donate their time to render services at public hospitals in the region, the campaign has since benefitted 8 000 patients.
Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba described the surgery as a significant achievement and milestone in the ongoing Rural Health Matters campaign.
She said it was particularly special as the facility was a deep rural hospital built in the village of Charlotte Maxeke, the first black woman to graduate with a science degree in South Africa.
"This will pave the way to helping reduce the orthopaedic surgical backlog that has for many years been a challenge for an under-resourced province like Limpopo," she said.
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