Professor Patrick Demana appointed as the Vice President of the South African Association for Pharmacists in Industry in 2021.
SAAPI is an association of pharmacists and other professionals who practice in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University hosted the 50th International Association of Dental Research Conference (IADR) from 12 -13 November 2020 at the Fire and Ice Protea Hotel, near Menlyn, in Pretoria.
IADR is a professional body of oral health practitioners with over 10 000 members worldwide. The IADR’s mission is to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being worldwide. Its vision is to provide access to oral health services for the world through discovery and dissemination.
A number of prominent speakers attended and addressed the conference including Deputy Minister of Higher Education Science and Innovation Mr Buti Manamela, Vice Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, Professor Ayo-Yusuf and others.
Go to the 10th Edition 2020 of SMU Newsletter
Media Statement
01 October 2020
For Immediate Release
The SMU department of general surgery is proud to be the first in South Africa to make use of the Hot Axios Stent Technique (HAST) to relieve a patient suffering from jaundice, due to an obstruction of bile duct. Although this technique has been in use for several years overseas, it was used for the first time to relieve bile duct obstruction in both the private and public sectors, in South Africa by SMU specialists.
The leading light in this pioneering work is Dr Christopher Ziady, a veteran gastro- enterelogist who examined a patient at the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital (DGMAH) presenting with a large Pancreatic Cancer, which could not be operated on.
The 58-year-old patient had deep Jaundice, itchy skin, loss of appetite, pain and had lost weight. Having examined this patient, Dr Ziady reckoned that the most appropriate treatment for such a patient was to afford him relief from these debilitating symptoms, to enable him to have appetite and to improve on his nutrition.
The normal treatment for such a condition was to place a stent into the bile obstruction to relieve jaundice, by means of an Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedure, which he had attempted previously to the patient. “This resulted in failure because the tumour had spread into the wall of the small intestine and destroyed the opening of the bile duct”, said Dr Ziady.
“We then sought an alternative to this failed treatment. An endoscopic ultrasound examination that was conducted on the patient confirmed the HAST was an appropriate alternative treatment”, Ziady continued.
A suitable size Stent was selected and was placed by means of Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Scope and the entire procedure took only 5 minutes. In most instances, other methods of Stent placement took up to one and half hour.
Not only is the technique efficient and safe, it also cuts down on recovery time spend in the hospital as the patient heals quicker than surgical technique. The patient can also be treated as an outpatient.
The successful general surgery department at SMU is headed by internationally acclaimed surgeon Professor Zach Koto.
Issued by the Marketing & Communication
For more details, please contact Dr Eric Pule, email address eric.pule@smu.ac.za
Phone 012 521 4563 Cell: 0635035587
Website: www.smu.ac.za
Download: Media-Statement-SMU-general-surgery-department-the-first-to-use-HAST-on-patient-final
Media Advisory
28 February 2020
Members of the media are hereby invited to cover and be part of the celebration of World Obesity Day to be hosted by the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University which will take place on Wednesday 4 March 2020.
The university’s participation in this international event marks its contribution towards the realisation of the UN’s Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 3 – which seeks to bring about healthy lives and promote well-being for all.
Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital (DGMAH)/SMU bariatric Surgery Unit has recently been accredited to perform metabolic and bariatric surgeries, making it the first public hospital in Gauteng to do this.
The performance of bariatric and metabolic surgeries represents an important advance in health care delivery in SA because it gives access to those who are poor but also in need of this life changing surgery.
“By hosting an event of this nature, we have a responsibility as a health sciences institution to take the lead in raising awareness and educating communities around obesity, its contribution to lifestyle diseases, how it affects quality of life and to deal with the stigma related to it”, says Dr Eric Pule, Director Marketing and Communication.
There will be free health assessment services on the day such as Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure and sugar tests. These tests will help identify those that are at risk of contracting obesity related illnesses and will also identify what should be done about the diagnoses.
Members of the media will also have an opportunity to interview those that were once obese and whose lives were seriously transformed for the better, by undergoing bariatric Surgery. The Unit is headed by Prof Zack Koto – a world renowned weight loss expert who will also interact with the media for more information around obesity.
Details are as follows:
Date 04 March 2020
Venue: Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University Library lawn (Garankuwa)
Time: 10h00 am
Please RSVP by 03 March 2020 by forwarding your names to Phaladi.Seakgwe@smu.ac.za/ seakgwe@gmail.com/eric.pule@smu.ac.za
Ends
Issued by the Marketing and Communication Department.
For more details and enquiries please contact Dr Eric Pule: Director, Marketing and Communication email: eric.pule@smu.ac.za Cell 0635035587 phone 012 521 4563
Website: www.smu.ac.za
Download: Media-Advisory-world-obesity-day-SMU-28-Feb-2020
The first Bariatric Surgery (or weight loss surgery) Unit of Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) has been recently established at Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital (DGMAH). This collaboration between the Gauteng Department of Health and SMU Department of Surgery represents an important advance in bringing this type of surgery within reach of the poor. The surgery also represents the multidisciplinary approach to the management of a patient with morbid obesity where surgeons, physicians, anesthetists, psychologists and other disciplines all contribute to the initial screening, workup and ongoing management and surgery of these patients.
The Bariatric surgery workshop held at SMU provided a real-time information for the numerous attendees including professors, specialists and doctors from both the public and private sectors as well as students. Unit head Professor Zach Koto said, “The surgery includes a variety of procedures performed on people who have morbid obesity. The weight loss is achieved by reducing the size of the stomach making it the size of an egg and re-routing the small intestine to a small stomach pouch. Patients are still advised to eat healthy afterwards because the surgery does the 50% and healthy eating does the rest”.
Prof Koto said the other type of bariatric procedure is reducing the size of the stomach by two-thirds (70%) in a procedure called sleeve gastrectomy. “This works by two mechanisms, Firstly, it reduces the size of the stomach so that the patient eats less. Secondly, it reduces the hunger hormones where the patient does not feel hungry”, he emphasised.
Obesity is a significant public health problem in South Africa with serious potential metabolic complications. “One out of three patients in South Africa is obese and this leads to diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and arthritis, hence it is important for a patient to go through a proper screening process before they can be considered for bariatric surgery which is a complete life style change for the patients. What is intriguing is that bariatric surgery is able to permanently cure diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and other obesity related comorbid conditions” added Prof Koto.
SMU through the department of surgery is spearheading the registration and accreditation of a qualification in Bariatric and minimal access surgery in South Africa. Koto said the service would help the government to save money as it could cure diabetes and ensure that there were no more premature deaths. He further said that the procedure had to be looked at, and be made available to the public throughout the country.
Prof Dhaneshwar Bhagwandass, Clinical Head in the Department of Anaesthesiology at SMU and DGMAH, welcomed the opportunity for the team involved in this venture to grow professionally as individuals and as members of a team. “Bringing such initiatives to the public sector, and succeeding, proves that collaborative efforts from clinicians can improve the lives of all South Africans,”emphasised Prof Bhagwandass.
After the presentations at the workshop, the audience was shown live Roux Y gastric bypass procedure on eight patients. This was done using the state-of-the-art 3D laparoscopic camera system in the high-tech room in the department of surgery at SMU. It was transmitted a distance from theatre at DGMAH to the Clinical Pathology Building (SMU). All the patients did well and were discharged two days later.
At this workshop, they also showcased the 4k (ultra-high definition) camera system. This interactive live surgery symposium is a significant education tool which is a growing intervention for learning and professional development. Attendees came from all over the country and some surgeons came all the way from
Namibia. Members of the SMU Surgical Students Society were also in attendance
Professor Zach Koto received the Clinical Excellence Award through the South African Excellence awards in 2019