South Africa is where surgical miracles happen all the time. Way back in 1967, South African physician Chris Barnard performed the first successful heart transplant.
That wasn’t enough. In fact, more surgical breakthroughs were to come. About 28 years ago, Siamese twins, Mpho and Mphonyana Mathibela, were born in South Africa and made international news after surviving complex surgery to separate them. However, Mphonyana died later due to an unrelated illness.
While that might be enough for one country’s legacy, South Africa’s relentless medical fraternity has done more to put us on the world map.
Recently, a man in Cape Town was the first patient to successfully undergo penis transplant surgery. After going through a traditional ceremony that went awry, the man’s fate was to have part of his manhood amputated. A group of Stellenbosch University enthusiasts then attached a donated penis which is not fully functional. This is another first in the South African history books.
With that in mind, it is a perfect time for CBS Reality (DStv channel 132) to bring you Super Surgery, a medical docu-series that shows us some of the world’s most impressive surgical breakthroughs.
We will see that, through advanced scientific means, people can have surgery without pain, blood or even a prolonged hospital stay. Let’s face it, getting medical issues resolved surgically is great when necessary, but the healing process can be really tough. So having all that solved through advanced surgery is a dream for many. In fact, even childbirth could be as painful as only a sneeze.
Super Surgery works with theories of what could work in medical advancement based on current studies. So a number of lab rats will help illustrate some of the most brilliant ideas out there.
Also highlighted will be some of the most recent surgical advancements.
Although there are countless other amazing medical stories, Super Surgery will not be able to do without the South African case studies as we are pioneers in the field. So forget about the glossy look on Grey’s Anatomy and tune into the real hospitals where trained doctors walk you through amazing advance-ments that could one day save your life.
• Super Surgery, CBS Reality, Saturdays and Sundays at 8pm.