East London heart transplant recipient Unakho Ntshintshi is back home with her family after an impressive recovery which caused doctors to cut short the obligatory time period she was expected to stay close to Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital. Unakho was given just three years to live when she was born with a set of complex congenital heart conditions.
East London heart warrior and Daily Dispatch Local Hero Unakho Ntshintshi, born with a complex set of congenital heart disorders, finally received a heart transplant in a daylong procedure at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town last week. Unakho, now 18, and her mother, Noxolo, had travelled to Cape Town from St Dominic’s Hospital in East London a few days earlier for her to receive an implantable device to regulate her heartbeat.
What would have been the 100th birthday of the late cardiovascular trailblazer Prof Christiaan Barnard is a time to reflect on South Africa's pioneering medical profession, experts have said.
Biénne Huisman chatted to Professor Keertan Dheda about work-life balance, problem-solving that excites him, and a career dedicated to the fight against tuberculosis.