UKZN Urology Team Treats More Than a Third of Patients in National Surgical Marathon
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) played a key supporting role in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) leg of the 2026 African Synergy Health’s (ASH) Mandela Week Surgical Marathon, with staff and specialist trainees from the University’s Discipline of Urology joining healthcare partners to provide life-changing surgical care to patients waiting for elective procedures.
Over five days (6 – 10 July), UKZN’s Urology specialists helped perform surgeries on 74 patients at both the Victoria Mxenge – St Aidan’s Hospital Tertiary Complex in Durban and the Ngwelezana Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Empangeni. This made a substantial contribution towards the national campaign’s aspiration of treating at least 200 patients by the end of Mandela Month.
The surgical teams performed a range of complex urological procedures, including surgery to correct congenital birth defects, reconstruct damaged urethras, and remove kidneys or testes affected by cancer.
The procedures were undertaken on patients who had been waiting for elective surgery in the public healthcare system, several of whom underwent multiple operations/procedures during the marathon. The total number of procedures is yet to be confirmed.
Head of UKZN’s Discipline of Urology and of the KwaZulu-Natal Clinical Department of Urology, Dr Cindy Zietsman, said the initiative demonstrated what could be achieved when the public and private sectors worked together.
“Treating 74 patients in just five days demonstrates both the commitment of our multidisciplinary team and the impact that strategic public-private partnerships can have on reducing surgical waiting lists,” said Zietsman. “Despite operating with limited human and financial resources, we have shown what is possible when specialist expertise, hospital capacity and external partners work towards a common goal.”
Zietsman said the demand for specialist urological services in KwaZulu-Natal continued to far exceed available capacity. Patients requiring urgent, life-threatening procedures typically wait between two and eight weeks for surgery, while those requiring non-life-threatening elective procedures can wait up to 12 months.
To maximise patient access, operating theatre capacity was significantly expanded throughout the KZN leg of the marathon. At Victoria Mxenge – St Aidan’s Hospital Tertiary Complex, eight theatre slates operated from early morning until late each day, compared with the usual six, while at Ngwelezana Provincial Tertiary Hospital, theatre capacity doubled from two to four slates.
The Surgical Marathon is being implemented through a Memorandum of Understanding between ASH (a non-profit public benefit organisation) and the National Department of Health, to eliminate elective surgical waiting lists in South Africa’s public healthcare system.
Rolled out across six provinces, the initiative has successfully concluded its Free State and KwaZulu-Natal programmes and is currently underway in Gauteng before going to the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The Marathon aims to expand access to life-changing surgical procedures while driving national awareness around healthcare access and patient dignity.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ASH, Dr Viola Morolo, said the organisation’s vision is to eliminate elective surgical waiting lists through collaborative partnerships that strengthen South Africa’s healthcare system.
Morolo and Dr Marissa Conradie, also from ASH, volunteered their services for three of the five operating days, working alongside five UKZN Urology specialists, six registrar doctors and four to six surgical nurses per theatre at each hospital.
The initiative has continued to grow in impact. During the 2025 KZN surgical marathon, 38 patients underwent 118 procedures at Victoria Mxenge – St Aidan’s Hospital Tertiary Complex. This year’s programme has already treated almost twice as many patients across two hospitals, reflecting the increasing reach of the partnership.
Words: Sejal Desai and Lunga Memela
Photographs: Supplied
