A team of doctors from public and private sectors conducted free epilepsy surgeries at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town on 21 February 2026, helping two patients who had waited two years. The Rise initiative aims to provide regular surgical care for drug-resistant epilepsy in the public health system. Funding came from Gift of the Givers, covering nursing staff costs.
On 21 February 2026, specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, and anaesthetics from both public and private sectors gathered at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town for the Restoring Independence through Surgery for Epilepsy (Rise) initiative. They performed anterior temporal lobectomy procedures pro bono on two adult patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, addressing waits of up to two years caused by resource constraints in the public health system.
The surgeries, which can cure epilepsy in up to 85% of suitable cases, were supported by funding from the nonprofit Gift of the Givers, amounting to about R20,000 for nursing staff. Dr Aayesha Soni, a specialist adult neurologist and epileptologist who led the effort, highlighted the procedure's potential: “Epilepsy is the second-most-common neurological condition after stroke, but there’s still all the stigma associated with it… While [epilepsy surgery] is not an option for everyone, if you carefully select your patients, it really offers them a lot of opportunities… and the fact that this is being done at a public hospital is really great. We’re hoping to build momentum, make it sustainable here.”
Dr Sally Röthemeyer, head of the neuro-oncology and functional neurosurgery unit and lead neurosurgeon, noted the success rate: “That is huge. That is really fighting odds.” The initiative builds on a 2020 programme by neurologists Professor Lawrence Tucker and Dr MV Gule, making Groote Schuur the first public facility in South Africa to regularly offer such surgeries to adults.
Challenges include high patient loads for emergency cases, budget cuts reducing operating lists, and nurse shortages. Soni, who completed a fellowship in Canada and now works in the private sector, coordinated the event with hospital support and private anaesthetists. Röthemeyer praised the teamwork: “My anaesthetic colleagues jumped on this… Nursing was also extremely willing.”
Both doctors hope to sustain the Rise initiative, starting with surgeries twice a year to create parallel care streams in a strained system. Dr Naeem Kathrada of Gift of the Givers emphasized their ongoing partnership with the hospital since the Covid-19 pandemic.
