“The patient is recovering as expected and has now been moved out of the intensive care unit to a normal antenatal ward. The baby does not show any signs of distress and the foetal heart monitoring is normal. The initial scan after the surgery appeared very satisfactory and the operation area on the foetal spine appears normal. If the recovery period continues to be uneventful the patient will be discharged home before the weekend,” he says.

Nicolaou and his team at Mediclinic Morningside worked with a team of international experts, led by Professor Mike Belfort from the United States, to perform the operation.

He believes that spina bifida in utero repair may stop the inflammatory process that leads to the damage of the nerves and the potential abnormalities listed below, and if successful may actually be the only surgery that is needed. The neurodevelopmental handicap may be less severe and the overall prognosis may improve dramatically.

There is a caution before such surgery is performed. “One ... Read More

Prof Mashudu Tshifularo about innovation, he believes the world should invest in medical innovation for a healthier future.

Tshifularo recently became the first person in the world to transplant a 3D-printed bone into the middle ear of a patient with hearing loss.

But, he is expecting criticism from his academic colleagues.

“Let them come. No one has been doing it. This is unique,” says he man who became a professor at the former Medunsa University at 35.

Last week, Tshifularo, 55, and his team from the University of Pretoria, performed the world’s first 3D middle ear transplant on Thabo Moshiliwa, 40, at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Tshwane.

Moshiliwa had been in a car accident that completely shattered his middle ear.

The operation lasted nearly two hours.

Tshifularo believes the procedure is only the tip of the iceberg for medical innovation in SA.

Men and women do not share the same employment context. Women represent less than 50% of the global working population according to the International Labour Organization.

Men and women don’t have a similar business setting. Below 50% of the worldwide female populace is employed particularly in Africa, a populace assessed at 49.6% as indicated by the 2017 UN cover on the ” Revised World Population Prospects”.

Morocco: anti-cancer drug factory

But more and more women are standing out. Creating jobs and heading different companies. It’s the case of Lamia Tazi, known for contributing in the fight against cancer.

A few days ago, Morocco launched a few days ago, the very first anti-cancer treatment factory in Africa. Sothema launched ‘‘Ypeva and Zelva’‘, the first two Moroccan treatments to treat the most common cancers in the kingdom and on the continent.

The Sothema Laboratories, which will generate about a hundred jobs, are headed by Lamia TAZI.

She speaks t... Read More