Tackling epilepsy head-on

A recent Daily Maverick article details the magic being made by NI members A/Prof Lawrence Tucker, Dr Aayesha Soni, Dr MV Gule, Dr Sally Röthemeyer and Dr Melody Asukile along with the incredible Groote Schuur technicians (notably Carla Hanekom). 

They are striving to make a surgical procedure that can alleviate seizures in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy accessible. As the article states 'Groote Schuur Hospital is the first public health facility in South Africa to offer this procedure to adult patients on a more regular basis'.

A rare and beautiful instance in which epilepsy can be totally cured in 70 to 85% of patients who undergo the surgery. 

Read more about it here.

Photo - Members of the multidisciplinary team tackling surgeries for temporal lobe epilepsy at Groote Schuur Hospital. From left: Dr Melody Asukile, neurologist; Dr MV Gule, neurologist; Carla Hanekom, neurology technologist; Professor Lawrence Tucker, neurologist; Dr Aayesha Soni, neurology registrar; and Dr Sally Röthemeyer, neurosurgeon. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp, Daily Maverick)