A South African doctor, the first – and only – woman in South Africa to practise as an internationally trained adult epileptologist, recently returned from Canada where she completed a year-long clinical fellowship in epileptology at the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario.
News24 reports that Dr Aayesha Soni (34) is now trained in a specialised technique used to pinpoint the source of seizures in patients with complex epilepsy, and is intent on putting her newfound knowledge and skills to work in her private practice while volunteering in the public healthcare sector.
In parallel with her private work, she is also committed to a pro bono post at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town, where she will assist in re-establishing an epilepsy surgery programme and contribute to the training of neurology registrars.
Soni, who also volunteers for Gift of the Givers, said she developed an interest in becoming a neurologist, specialising in epilepsy, after her sister was treated for a spinal tumour.
Almost a decade later, she is the only neurologist in the country with formal training in stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG), a specialised technique used to pinpoint the source of seizures in patients with complex epilepsy.
“After I graduated from med school, I wanted to do emergency medicine and anaesthetics, so that I could volunteer for an organisation like Doctors Without Borders. But my older sister, who’s also a doctor, was diagnosed with a spinal tumour. That’s when I started reading about neurology, and got really interested in it,” she said.
During her training, Soni began working with a supervisor who had an interest in epilepsy, and soon realised that the condition was poorly managed among many low-income communities.
Her research focused on epilepsy surgery and a procedure that can prevent seizures in some epilepsy patients. She used the research to spearhead the first epilepsy surgery in South Africa.
Soni’s clinical interests lie in the surgical management of epilepsy, including the use of advanced neuromodulation therapies such as vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). These interventions offer meaningful options for patients who have not responded to conventional medical treatment and are at the forefront of modern epilepsy care.
“Around 80% of people with epilepsy in the world live in low- to middle-income countries. And that includes South Africa. It’s the second most common neurological disease. Despite this, we still don’t have the capacity or the skills to treat the patient as we should,” she said.
Although it is highly treatable, epilepsy remains a neglected public health priority in many parts of the world, with significant stigma, under-diagnosis, and limited access to specialised care.
A lack of training opportunities in South Africa meant that Soni had to spend time in Canada to advance her knowledge.
“It has never been about the title of being the first,” she said. “I just want to improve myself so that I can help as many people as possible. I was always planning to come back to serve South Africans, and to help as many people as possible with these new skills.”
She said many patients continued to live with uncontrolled seizures, despite being eligible for life-changing interventions. She hopes to play a role in addressing this gap.
“I always recall one of my first surgeries. He was a refugee from the DRC here in South Africa. And when he came to me, he was just 17-years-old, and having about three to four seizures a week. His grades were really suffering because of his epilepsy.
“We operated on him, and he’s been seizure-free now for five years. He managed to complete his matric, and he studied IT. That can be the story with patients with epilepsy who are managed well,” she said.
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