Overview
- The operation followed comprehensive imaging and planning and was carried out at Mankweng Hospital outside Polokwane.
- Pediatric surgeon Dr Nyaweleni Tshifularo led a multidisciplinary team through more than eight hours in theatre, starting about 7:45am and finishing shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.
- Clinicians credited coordinated work by pediatricians, surgeons, plastic surgeons, anesthetists, nurses and allied professionals for the successful separation.
- Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba praised the team and called it a first-of-its-kind achievement for a rural South African hospital, urging more investment in rural facilities.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Tshifularo and the team, highlighting the significance for South Africa’s public health sector.