When Martha Vanstawel had surgery to treat her heart condition 18 years ago, she thought the worst of her problems were behind her.
However, this was not the case as the issue flared up again, this time not only affecting her health but also her mental wellbeing and leaving her anxious about the future.
Vanstawel battled with a leaking heart valve and congenital aneurysm. The latter meant her heart developed swelling and an “outpouch”, according to the medical team.
Her struggle came to an end when she became the first person to undergo open-heart surgery at Klerksdorp-Tshepong Hospital’s newly renovated cardiothoracic theatre.
The historic operation took place on Friday and involved a team from Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, collaborating in the surgery.
Her uncle, Johannes Moseki, confirmed that the 38-year-old mother of two was recovering well after the operation.
“She's able to eat and speak. So for us as a family it's a remarkable recovery,” he said.
Moseki explained her condition first started in 2006. At the time, she travelled to Johannesburg for surgery, which was a success. This was short-lived as she soon “experienced difficulties and sometimes would have trouble standing for long periods”, according to her uncle.
“She'd feel like her heart had stopped beating. She started feeling depressed and like she wouldn't live for long due to her condition.”
Despite this, Vanstawel feared undergoing another operation, as she worried about her children should anything happen to her.
After seeking counsel from her family, who advised her to seek medical help, she eventually decided to brave it and go under the knife for the second time, to resounding success.
The surgery itself took about six hours, the Gauteng and North West health departments confirmed.
Dr Tumi Taunyane, from Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, said it was the result of a 2013 plan to turn Tshepong Hospital into “a fully-fledged academic hospital”.
“Cardiac surgery requires a lot of resources, from the actual manpower capacity to infrastructure and equipment. Also, the co-ordination of various disciplines within cardiac surgery itself to ensure that everything is in place.
“So many years down the line, coming to 2023-24, we felt that all the teams were now ready. The infrastructure was ready, the equipment was there, and the right people with the right mindset were all there. It's just a matter of determining when we can do this particular procedure. Not just doing it but instituting a programme that can be sustainable.”
The team also had to look for a suitable candidate for the surgery. Taunyane explained this was not without challenges as there was a list of patients in need of the operation. They eventually settled on Vanstawel, given her decades-long diagnosis.
Taunyane said while Vanstawel's condition “posed a unique challenge”, for the team “the challenge was not really there because we felt that even if she had been operated on at Charlotte [Maxeke], it would still be the same team”.
“It was just a different environment and with this environment ... we were fairly confident that this surgery can go through with minimal or no complications,” he said.
Taunyane said Vanstawel was in the intensive care unit but was in “high spirits”.
The success of this surgery will mean that more operations will be carried out on a “routine basis” at the hospital by the same collaborative team until the hospital is ready to conduct its own surgeries, he said. Not only that, but Charlotte Maxeke will also assist with the training of medical staff.
Charlotte Maxeke CEO Gladys Bogoshi said there has been a unique relationship between the two hospitals over the years. Tshepong assisted Charlotte Maxeke when a fire broke out at the facility in 2021 and Charlotte Maxeke, in turn, has helped train registrars from the North West hospital.
“I would like to thank everybody ... for really making this day a beautiful one. A life has been saved and a mother will go and work for her children and her family is elated,” she said.
Vanstawel's uncle said the next step for the family was uplift her from her dire circumstances. She has never worked and has relied on hawking to make ends meet.
"[Also] where she lives, it's not a good place for her to live. She lives at a hostel in Jouberton. So once she's discharged ... as a family, we'll sit down and discuss her living situation,” he said.
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