A team of Cape Town specialists has just marked a groundbreaking medical first for the country – one that could change how certain cancers are treated going forward!

Cape Town, South Africa (27 March 2026) – Doctors at UCT Private Academic Hospital have just performed an incredible medical milestone!

Dr Gercois Human, Dr Jateel Kassim, Dr Gareth Bydawell and the Cape Town Interventional Radiology team successfully used cryoablation to treat cancer that had returned after surgery.

It’s the first time this technique has been used locally for this type of cancer spread.

Cryoablation, in simple terms, uses extremely cold temperatures to freeze and destroy cancer cells. Guided by advanced imaging, doctors can target tumours with precision, without the need for major surgery.

In this case, the patient had previously undergone treatment for papillary thyroid carcinoma, a common form of thyroid cancer. While the original tumour had been removed, the cancer later returned in the form of secondary tumours elsewhere in the body, a process known as metastasis.

Using cryoablation, the medical team were able to directly treat these tumours by freezing them, offering a less invasive option with the potential for faster recovery and fewer complications.

It’s a significant moment not just for the team involved but for cancer care in South Africa as a whole!

Treatments like this are changing what’s possible, especially for patients facing recurrence,
where options can often feel limited.

While this is just one case, it opens the door to broader use of cryoablation in treating the spread of certain forms of cancer locally, giving patients access to groundbreaking care without needing to look abroad.

Sources: Linked above.

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A groundbreaking medical milestone means patients now have better access to world-class healthcare in the South Coast!

KwaZulu-Nate, South Africa (09 March 2026) – This week, doctors at Shelly Beach Hospital successfully removed a brain tumour without making a single external incision.

The milestone procedure, known as an – and it’s a mouthful – ‘endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary tumour resection’, was performed by neurosurgeon Dr Nxakama, ENT surgeon Dr Sigonya and anaesthesiologist Dr Malleck.

“This procedure marks the first time a brain tumour has been removed on the South Coast without a single external incision, signalling a new era of world-class healthcare accessible right at home.” shares Shelly Beach Hospital.

While the technique has been performed in other hospitals in South Africa, this marks the first time in the South Coast, bringing more advanced neurosurgical care closer to home for residents in the region.

The procedure allows surgeons to remove certain brain tumours through the nasal passages using a specialised endoscope, meaning no external cuts to the skull or face are required.

As per Pretoria Neurosurgeons, Pituitary tumours form in the pituitary gland that sits at the base of the brain and is responsible for regulating hormones in the body. It controls things like growth and development via the body’s endocrine system. When tumours develop there, they can disrupt hormone levels or place pressure on surrounding structures that can lead to a number of health complications.

Using an endoscope and detailed imaging like MRI scans to guide the surgery, surgeons are able to carefully access the tumour through the sinus behind the nose. The tumour is then removed piece by piece with specialised instruments.

The procedure avoids major incisions, which means that patients often endure less trauma to the body, shorter recovery times and fewer complications compared with open surgery.

The milestone brings better access to communities along the South Coast. Specialised neurosurgery often requires patients to travel for treatment, but milestones like this show how regional hospitals are working to expand possibilities for patients closer to home.

When world-class healthcare reaches smaller towns, it means more people can get the life-changing treatment they need without travelling far from the communities that support them.

Sources: Linked above.

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Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

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It took just 38mm of micro-tech to mark a major moment for South African healthcare, as specialists implanted the nation’s first leadless pacemaker with precision and success.

Centurion, South Africa (09 December 2025) – A powerful shift has just taken place in South African healthcare, one so small you could balance it on your fingertip, yet significant enough to shape the future of cardiac treatment.

A pioneering procedure at Netcare Unitas Hospital has seen a tiny, leadless pacemaker implanted directly into the heart of a patient, introducing a new chapter in life-saving technology and marking an extraordinary moment for local medical innovation.

The device, known as the AVEIR VR Leadless Pacemaker (LP), is the first of its kind ever implanted in South Africa and only the second on the entire continent. It measures just 38mm, a fraction of the size of a AAA battery, yet carries the promise of transforming care for people living with heart rhythm disorders.

In late November, cardiologist Dr Jean Vorster and electrophysiologist Dr Jane Moses performed the landmark procedure using a minimally invasive technique that signals a remarkable leap forward in micro-tech solutions for cardiac health.

“Although pacemakers have become smaller with longer battery life over the past two to three decades, there has been little advancement in the therapy,” explains Dr Vorster, who practises at Netcare Unitas Hospital.

That is precisely why this moment is so meaningful. Traditional pacemakers rely on leads that run through veins into the heart, and patients are often left with a visible chest bulge or scar, a daily reminder of their condition. This new generation LP changes all of that.

“This latest iteration of pacemaker technology not only eliminates the need for leads, which are usually implanted through the veins leading to the heart, but there is also the aesthetic advantage that the patient is no longer left with a bulge in their chest… because this LP is so small,” says Dr Vorster. “The AVEIR VR LP is also unique in the considerable advancement in the algorithms and programming of the device.”

The single-chamber device sits comfortably within the lower right ventricle of the heart. But as Dr Jane Moses points out, its true significance lies in what it makes possible next.

“While this single chamber device is good news in itself for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders, the major significance of this technology lies in the possibilities it presents for further breakthroughs in the near future.”

That future feels much closer now.

Designed for precision, the pacemaker is inserted and positioned using a slim catheter guided through the femoral vein. No chest incision required. Before it’s secured, the system can map the area, measure electrical activity, and determine the exact point of optimal contact. Once confirmed, the pacemaker is gently rotated to anchor it into the heart’s muscular inner wall. It can even be retrieved if needed.

For patients, the benefits are immediate. There are fewer risks of infection, no concerns about lead degradation, and often a significantly shorter recovery time.

“Eliminating leads is really a game-changer in pacemaker technology,” Dr Vorster says. “In Europe, some patients can return home on the day of the procedure, reducing the need for hospital recovery.”

Dr Moses adds that while leadless pacemakers are currently reserved for specific cases, such as patients with infections or insufficient access for traditional leads, this breakthrough sets the stage for something extraordinary.

“As the first in the country and only the second such device implanted on the continent, we are encouraged that this technology is paving the way for further developments.”

One of those developments could soon be dual-chamber, leadless pacing: a device in the ventricle and another in the atrium, communicating to replicate more natural heart rhythms.

“In the not-too-distant future, we can foresee the benefits… to restore regular, healthy heartbeats for a wider range of conditions to bring hope to more patients,” Dr Moses says.

And that’s the heart of this story: hope.

Hope wrapped in innovation. Hope delivered through a device smaller than we ever thought possible. Hope for thousands of South Africans who may one day benefit from micro-tech that feels more like science fantasy becoming science fact.

Source: Netcare 

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

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