Medical

$This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Helené Basson, an orthopaedic surgeon in private practice at Life Eugene Marais Hospital in Pretoria, founder and CEO of Operation Healing Hands, and the driving force behind the Amici community choir. From restoring movement through surgery to opening doors to healthcare and bringing people together through music, her story reveals how a passion for people can shape a rich and purposeful life. A Calling Inspired by Her Father Dr Basson’s path into medicine began with watching her father, an orthopaedic surgeon whose enthusiasm for his work left a lasting impression. By the age of sixteen, she knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps. He encouraged her to explore medicine before committing to a speciality, and she later worked alongside him for seven years. Her advice to young people is simple: choose a career because it genuinely excites you and you are passionate about it, not merely because others believe you have the academic ability to pursue it. Restoring Movement — and Quality of Life Orthopaedics offers the variety that first drew Dr Basson to the profession: treating conditions affecting the spine and limbs, from fractures and ligament injuries to joint problems. Having initially specialised in paediatric orthopaedics, she went on to develop a practice combining spinal and general orthopaedic care. She finds fulfilment both in the precision of surgery and in getting to know patients, accompanying them through treatment and recovery. The Person Behind the Procedure One of Dr Basson’s moving reflections concerned an elderly patient whose severe complications prompted difficult conversations about surgery and palliative care. The experience reinforced a lesson that has stayed with Dr Basson: medicine is not simply about what can be done, but about what is right for the person receiving care. Knowing when to stop, recognising professional limits and seeking guidance are as important as knowing how to operate. Sometimes no treatment is treatment. Above all, patients and families need honest communication and a sense that someone is walking the journey with them. Women’s Bone Health: Looking Beyond the Fracture The conversation turns to osteoporosis and the importance of paying attention to bone health after menopause. Dr Basson highlights the danger of treating a fracture without considering an underlying bone-health problem, and encourages women to discuss assessment and treatment with their doctors. She also emphasises regular, manageable physical activity, including walking, as part of caring for bones, muscles and joints. Her message is to take prevention seriously rather than wait for another injury. Finding Her Place in Surgery Asked about gender barriers in surgery, Dr Basson offers a personal perspective: she did not experience gender-based obstacles during her own training. She recalls a team environment centred on caring for patients and lasting friendships with colleagues. The discussion also considers how greater representation can shift perceptions of women in the workplace. Her experience adds an encouraging voice to the conversation about women entering surgical specialities, without suggesting that every woman’s journey is the same. Operation Healing Hands: Small Contributions, Life-Changing Results Operation Healing Hands grew from the frustration of seeing a young mother living with the consequences of delayed fracture treatment and being unable to afford further surgery. What began as a Mandela Day initiative in 2016, helping around fourteen patients, became a full-time charity. Ten years on, Dr Basson reports that OHH has helped more than 1,700 patients. Its philosophy is that everyone does a little, and together they do a lot: doctors donate their expertise, while hospitals, suppliers and donors contribute to making surgery possible. Bridging the Gap in Access to Surgery The charity matches eligible patients with surgeons across different specialities, focusing on relatively low-risk cases that can be addressed through a single surgical procedure rather than ongoing treatment. Referrals and a partnership with the Atterbury Trust’s free clinic help connect patients to assessment and potential surgical support. Yet funding remains a constant challenge. Even with donated professional time and supplies, consumables and implants carry costs, and the need for surgery far exceeds the charity’s capacity. For Dr Basson, additional funding means the opportunity to help more people. Amici: Friendship, Music and Food for the Soul Beyond the operating theatre, Dr Basson finds joy and renewal in Amici, the community choir she started with friends when she was nineteen. Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, the choir welcomes singers without auditions and performs in churches, retirement homes and its own concerts. As the group grew, she pursued courses and learned from experienced musicians to develop her conducting skills. Music, friendship, faith and community come together in an activity she describes as food for the soul — a reminder that fulfilment need not be confined to a single profession. A Message to the Next Generation: Never Say Never The conversation closes with an invitation to girls and young women to find what they love and pursue it with commitment. Whether that passion lies in work, study, a hobby or helping others, Dr Basson believes it can provide the energy to keep going through difficult years. Her own journey shows how unexpected possibilities can emerge through learning, hard work and openness to change. Her message encapsulates hope fused with practical steps: never say never, follow your path, and live with passion. Tune in for more...$
October 30, 2026
Dr Helené Basson – Orthopaedic Surgeon – Never...

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Helené Basson, an orthopaedic surgeon in private practice at Life Eugene Marais Hospital in Pretoria, founder and CEO of Operation Healing Hands, and the driving force behind the Amici ...

Dr Helené Basson
October 23, 2026
Dr Naadiyah Sterianos – Trauma Director and Trauma...

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Naadiyah Sterianos, a specialist trauma surgeon, academic and healthcare leader. She serves as Trauma Director and Surgeon at Life Wilgeheuwel Hospital, having previously worked at Net ...

Dr Naadiyah Sterianos
October 15, 2026
Dr Stephanie Eichstadt – Psychiatrist – Mental Health...

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Stephanie Eichstadt, a psychiatrist who works with adolescents and adults and has a special interest in women’s mental health. Coming shortly after World Mental Health Day, commemorate ...

Dr Stephanie Eichstadt
October 1, 2026
Dr Malini Bhana – Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon – Follow...

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Malini Bhana, a specialist general surgeon focused on hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery, one of medicine’s most intricate and demanding fields. From an early interest in research to ...

Dr Malini Bhana
September 25, 2026
Dr Lauren Ford – Neurosurgeon – Solutionist

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with neurosurgeon Dr Lauren Ford, whose work spans traumatic brain injury, neurosurgical oncology and spinal surgery. From a childhood fascination with medicine to a career operating at millimet ...

Dr Lauren Ford
$This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Melody Sun, a general ophthalmologist and refractive surgeon in private practice. Dr Sun’s career brings together medicine, technology and the precision of delicate surgery, driven by a deep interest in the human body, a commitment to problem-solving and a passion for restoring vision. Her path into medicine began with curiosity and courage. Growing up in a family where illness was often associated with fear, Dr Sun wanted to understand how modern medicine can treat disease. For her, medicine encompasses the body’s intricate systems, the people it treats, compassion and helping patients overcome uncertainty. Finding Her Way into Ophthalmology Although ophthalmology was not a major focus during her medical training, a suggestion from her father helped open the door to the speciality. What began as a recommendation became a field she embraced fully. Dr Sun describes the eye as both a world of its own and a window into the rest of the body, making ophthalmology a discipline that combines medical insight with surgical precision. The Precision and Impact of Restoring Sight As a refractive surgeon, Dr Sun works in an area of ophthalmology focused on reducing patients’ dependence on glasses or contact lenses. She explains procedures such as laser vision correction, implantable contact lenses and modern cataract surgery in accessible terms, showing how advances in technology and surgical planning can transform daily life. Cataract surgery, in particular, can restore independence and dignity to patients who may have lost the ability to navigate, groom themselves or recognise their loved ones clearly. Women in a Specialised Surgical Field The conversation explores the realities of building a career as a woman in a demanding surgical speciality. Dr Sun reflects on the importance of kindness, encouragement and mentorship, recalling how supportive colleagues helped build her confidence as she learned cataract surgery. She also speaks honestly about pregnancy, motherhood and training, noting that women often have to navigate career milestones alongside family decisions, and that support within the workplace can make a profound difference. Women’s Eye Health Matters Applying a gender lens to eye health, Dr Sun highlights conditions that may affect women more frequently, including dry eye linked to hormonal changes, pregnancy-related vision changes and eye complications associated with autoimmune disease. We discuss the relatively low allocation of research funding towards women’s health, which emphasises reproductive health, and we argue that women’s health should not be reduced to reproductive health alone. Greater awareness, advocacy and research funding are needed to understand how different conditions affect women across the whole body. Building a Practice and a Life with Purpose Beyond clinical work, Dr Sun is also building her own clinic, a process she describes as humbling, uncertain and outside her comfort zone. Yet it also represents freedom: the freedom to shape patient care, build something of her own and bring her personal vision into practice. Her reflections on balance are grounded in realism rather than perfection. She emphasises organisation, prioritisation and the need for women not to neglect themselves while managing career, family and responsibility. The conversation closes with a message of resilience and boldness. Dr Sun encourages girls and women to build strong foundations, especially in maths and science if they are considering medicine, but also to remember that they do not need to have their whole lives figured out early. Her advice is to find your “why”, keep going when the path becomes difficult, appreciate the journey and be audacious enough to ask for what you want, because the worst answer is simply no. Tune in for more...$
September 4, 2026
Dr Melody Sun – Ophthalmologist and Refractive Surgeon...

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Melody Sun, a general ophthalmologist and refractive surgeon in private practice. Dr Sun’s career brings together medicine, technology and the precision of delicate surgery, driven by ...

Dr Melody Sun
July 17, 2026
Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim: Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health...

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, one of the world's foremost infectious disease epidemiologists, whose pioneering work has transformed HIV prevention for women and shaped global public he ...

Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim
June 4, 2026
Professor Mashiko Setshedi – Head of Medicine at...

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Professor Mashiko Setshedi, Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, she is a leading gastroenterologist, educator, and researcher shapi ...

Professor Mashiko Setshedi
February 26, 2026
Dr. Sarah Pedretti – UCT Lung Institute –...

This week on Womanity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Sarah Pedretti, Principal Scientific Officer at the University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Dr Pedretti traces her academic path from France and Switzerland to South Africa, highlightin ...

Dr. Sarah Pedretti
February 19, 2026
Dr. Sebastiana Kalula – Specialist Physician in Geriatric...

This week on Womanity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Sebastiana Kalula, emeritus associate professor, specialist physician in geriatric medicine, Director of the Albertina and Walter Sisulu Institute of Ageing in Africa, and Co-Director o ...

Dr. Sebastiana Kalula

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