South Africa: This World-Class Scientist From Cape Town Used to Cut Up Her Dolls and Perform Imaginary Transplant Surgeries
[spotlight] Long before she became a pioneering scientist, Professor Liesl Zühlke insisted on seeing her tonsils after they were removed when she was just five years old. Today, paediatric cardiology is close to her heart, and her research has helped answer critical questions in the entire pipeline of heart disease.
Liesl Zühlke, a world-class scientist from Cape Town, had a fascination with the inner workings of the human body from a young age. She used to cut up her dolls and perform imaginary transplant surgeries, even insisting on examining her tonsils after they were removed when she was five years old. This early interest in medicine led her to study medicine and surgery at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
During her time as a trainee in paediatric cardiology at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in the mid-2000s, Zühlke encountered a 12-year-old patient with a severe congenital heart condition. The boy was so weak that he was dying, and had a coronary artery anomaly, a structural heart defect where the major coronary artery supplies the heart with oxygen-poor blood, causing it to die. Thanks to early detection and cardiac surgery, the boy's heart function returned to normal.
This experience, which Zühlke calls a turning point in her life, sparked her interest in coronary artery anomalies and led her to conduct a small study on 30 cases of this condition. Her research helped diagnose the condition earlier, allowing for earlier surgery and preventing heart damage in children with the lesion.
Zühlke's dedication to research and evidence-based medicine has had a significant impact on the lives of numerous patients. Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, Zühlke's passion for medicine led her to pursue a career in paediatric cardiology. She became the first woman in South Africa to be appointed as a full professor in this field in 2019.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
