Professor Meshack Ntlhe – 8 June 1951 – 8 January 2022
A Brief Obituary of Professor Meshack Ntlhe MBChB (Natal) FCS (SA) 1951-2022
Professor Letlhogela Meshack Ntlhe was born in Randfontein on 8th June 1951. He matriculated from Barolong High School in Mafikeng in 1970.
Professor Meshack Ntlhe’s professional life starts with his admission to the Short Course MBChB at the University of Natal Medical School in 1971. It is important to note that the medical course at that time was a 7 year course that started with a Preliminary Year. However a few talented matriculants were admitted directly into the 1st year. Meshack was one of these select few.
In 1971 the Medical at University of Natal Black Section (UNB) was a hive of student politics. The fledging South African Student Organisation (SASO) had its national head office accommodated at the Alan Taylor Residence which was the only residence for all black students at the time. Steve Biko, a medical student at UNB, was the president of SASO. A number of other medical students served on the national executive council of SASO. SASO was expounding a philosophy of Black Consciousness (BC) whose tenants included black self-discovery, that the continued black oppression under apartheid was a function of co-operation by the blacks themselves.
The liberation of black people starts with their own mental freedom. BC propounded that blacks should unite and develop each other for self-sufficiency. Its mantra was “Black man you are on your own” It is important to remember that black encompasses people of African, Indian, Colored descent. It was in this vibrant political milieu that Meshack was introduced to university life. BC was to shape his career choices of unwavering service to his people starting with involvement in student projects to help needy local communities.
Meshack Ntlhe did not only have a brilliant mind, he was also an accomplished sportsman. He represented UNB in soccer and also trialed for one of the two local big clubs in Durban. This was at a time before sports clubs became professional and drew many of their players from the universities. He also played soft ball at UNB. Meshack was to become an ardent golf player regularly teeing off with his golfing partners until the advent of Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Ntlhe qualified with MBChB in 1978. He joined the Bophelong Hospital in Mafikeng for his internship and remained there as a Medical Officer until 1982 when he left to start his surgical training.
Professor Ntlhe was one of the last quintessential general surgeons. He trained as a surgeon at his alma mater based at King Edward VIII Hospital under the leadership of Professor Lynne Baker. He qualified as a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of South Africa (FCS) in 1988. When Professor Baker later put together a team to introduce Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) in South Africa, Prof Ntlhe was at the core of this team. He visited the preeminent trauma surgeon Donald Trunkey’s unit at Oregon to imbibe first-hand the philosophy and practice of ATLS to bring it to South Africa.
Prof Meshack Ntlhe became a multitalented surgeon. He was a trauma surgeon par excellence for which introduction of ATLS is but one example. He served in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Reserve Force with a title of Colonel where he trained soldiers on Battlefield Advanced Trauma Life Support (BATLS) and Battlefield Advanced Resuscitation Techniques Skills (BARTS).
Training under Professor John Robbs, he became an accomplished vascular surgeon. He started a vascular unit at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, now Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, and the Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa), now Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. In 2012 he was recognized for advancing the reach of communities to vascular surgery services by an award from Vascular Society of South Africa (VASSA).
An ever willing workhorse, no task was ever too menial or too daunting for him. During the rejuvation and modernization of the Department of Surgery at the University of Pretoria, he led the new breast and endocrine unit at Steve Biko Academic Hospital with great distinction. When a transformation crisis that threatened to collapse the vascular services at Steve Biko Academic Hospital loomed large, he readily stepped into the breach to save the situation. He was an equally competent gastro-enterology surgeon.
He was a member of many surgical societies that reflected his varied surgical interests, Trauma Association of South Africa (TASSA), VASSA, South African Society of Endoscopic Surgeons (SASES) and Association of Surgeons of South Africa (ASSA). He served on the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s Medical Committee as part of his outreach.
A committed talent developer, he was a dedicated teacher and trainer, who devoted his life to teaching undergraduate medical students and training specialist registrars in surgery. In addition to teaching trauma, breast and endocrine, Prof Ntlhe was critical in providing general surgery enrichment lecturers and tutorials primarily targeted at struggling students. The combination of a dedicated teacher or trainer and committed patient care is best illustrated by his readiness to get out of bed at night to come out and assist a struggling registrar with a difficult emergency operation. A key attribute of a good leader is the willingness to replicate oneself to redundancy such that when one retires there are plenty protégés to pick up the baton. Prof Ntlhe accomplished this many times over.
Meshack plied his multifaceted teaching and training skills at the then Medunsa and Ga-Rankuwa Hospital from 1989-2009 growing through the ranks from Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor, and at University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital from 2009-2021 as Adjunct Professor. He acted as an external examiner at the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN), University of Witwatersrand and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, and as an examiner for Fellowship of College of Surgeons examinations. His publications were predictably mainly on trauma and vascular surgery. He has left an indelible mark on both his students and professional colleagues alike.
He is survived by his 8 children, 8 grandchildren and two younger brothers.
Professor Ntlhe succumbed to complications of Covid 19 infection on the 8th January 2022.
Go well friend. Go and rest your weary bones. Let the legacy of your surgical works life live on as a testimony to your selfless commitment to serve.
Taole Mokoena
20 January 2022