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20 November 2018 Photo Varsity Sports
Sikholiwe Mdletshe rewarded with SA colours in Netball
Sikholiwe Mdletshe in action for the Kovsie netball team this year. She also represented the SA Student team and will soon play for the national U20 team.

With her expectations already exceeded for this year, Sikholiwe Mdletshe was further rewarded for a good year on the netball courts when she was selected for the South African U20 netball team.

The team will participate in the Africa Union Sport Council Region 5 Games in Botswana from 7 to 16 December 2018.

Sikholiwe is a second-year BCom Accounting student who plays wing defence or centre for the varsity netball team.

She played a big role in helping Kovsies win the Varsity Netball trophy. Sikholiwe earned two Player of the Match awards. Apart from playing for the Kovsies, she also represented the Free State and was the youngest team member in the national student team for the World University Championship in Uganda.

“It’s been a great year. I didn’t expect to make so many teams and actually play so many games; I feel so blessed that my dreams are starting to become a reality and I couldn’t be more excited for the future,” said Sikholiwe.

She attended Middelburg High School and was selected as a finalist for the Matriculant of the Year competition in 2016. “Once I saw how netball was going at Kovsies, the high calibre of players who formed part of the team, and speaking to their coach, Burta de Kock, my mind was fixed on the UFS as choice of university.”

Sikholiwe also paid tribute to her teammate, friend, and Protea netball player, Khanyisa Chawane. “KC is such a big inspiration, she inspired me from a deeper place than just netball,” explained Sikholiwe.  She further pointed out that she would like to focus on becoming a better player than she is today, and from there she wants to reach greater 

News Archive

UFS Doctors make History in South Africa
2011-07-14

 

New aortic valve

Three members of our Faculty of Health Sciences made history by being the first to implant a special new aortic valve in South Africa. 
 
In a combined effort, the Departments of Cardiology, Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery did the first Medtronic CoreValve implant in South Africa on a patient in Universitas Academic Hospital. 
 
With the support of hospital management and the Medtronic company, Prof. Hennie Theron, Prof. Stephen Brown and Dr JP Theron of the Faculty of Health Sciences, with the assistance of Dr Jean-Claude Laborde, performed the operation early on Wednesday morning, 06 July 2011.
 
The advantage of this new valve is that it can be implanted percutaneously through a catheter from the groin. This eliminates the need for invasive surgery.
 
The valve is made from porcine pericardium (tissue derived from pigs) and is mounted on an expandable stent, which is threaded along an artery, until it reaches its desired position. Prof. Theron says the valve is especially useful in older patients who suffer from aortic valve disease and pose a high surgical risk. Furthermore, the use of this valve greatly reduces hospitalisation time, in comparison to traditional surgery.
 
“One patient already received an implant this morning and we hope to finish 2 more today,” Prof. Brown said, emphasizing the swiftness and efficiency of the new valve implanting process.
 
“It is a complex procedure, but this service can in future be offered to all patients in the public and private sectors of the Free State. It is heartwarming that the academic complex can take the lead in this modern, high-tech therapy.”
 
For more information on the procedure, please contact Prof. Theron at 051 4053428.
 

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