Clinical Service

At our core, we provide advanced medical and surgical care to children with a broad range of brain conditions. The Paediatric Neurosurgery Division at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital is the leading tertiary paediatric neurosurgery service in Sub-Saharan Africa. We manage a broad range of patients nationally and internationally with pathologies including brain and spinal cord tumours, trauma, infections, hydrocephalus, congenital anomalies, epilepsy, movement disorders, vascular pathologies and numerous other specialist conditions. Our clinical team are world leaders in innovative neurosurgical techniques and offer the most comprehensive multimodality neurocritical care. Patient care is informed by research findings generated in our own lab and from elsewhere, we prioritise individualised precision-medicine, and have achieved significant advances in patient management and outcomes across diverse conditions. Our clinical and research teams work closely to ensure translational research that is driven by clinical imperatives, and which improves the management of high burden neurosurgical conditions.

Our Neurosurgery Consultants hold numerous international leadership positions and are regular contributors to international consensus statements and treatment guidelines.

Professor Figaji

Professor Figaji, Head of Paediatric Neurosurgery:

  • African Brain Child, Director
  • World Federation Neurosurgical Societies Congress 2023, Scientific Chair
  • Neurotrauma Foundation, Paediatric Lead
  • Society of Neurosurgeons of South Africa, President Elect
  • University of Cape Town Neuroscience Institute, Head Platforms
  • Academy of Science of South Africa, invited member
  • International Society of Paediatric Neurosurgery, outgoing Secretary
  • Global Neuro, Founding member and Steering Committee
  • International Neurotrauma Society, Executive Board Member and Past President
  • International Society of Intraoperative Neurophysiology, 2014 Chair
Nico Enslin

Associate Professor Nico Enslin, Senior Consultant and Clinical lead of Functional Neurosurgery:

  • Vice chair for SNSA educational committee
  • Continental President for Africa in World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
  • University of Cape Town Neuroscience Institute, Director of Neurosurgical Innovation Lab
  • Neurosurgery representative at Specialist Training Committee and FSB UCT
  • Executive committee member SA Child society
  • Executive board member WSSFN
  • World Federation Neurosurgical Societies, Committee member of Functional Neurosurgery committee
Nico Enslin

Dr Nqobile Thango, Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon:

  • Young African Neurosurgeons Forum, Chair
  • World Federation Neurosurgical Societies, Young Neurosurgeons Forum
  • World Federation Neurosurgical Societies, Global Neurosurgery committee (research co-lead)
Associate Professor Ursula Rohlwink

Associate Professor Ursula Rohlwink, Senior Neuroscientist:

  • African Brain Child, Senior Scientist
  • Wellcome International Intermediate Fellow
  • Department of Surgery Postgraduate Committee, Chair
  • International Symposium of Intracranial Pressure and Brain Monitoring, Executive Board member and 2022 Chair
  • International Neurotrauma Society, Executive Board member
  • Young African Neurosurgeons Forum, Scientific Committee member
  • University of Cape Town Neuroscience Institute, Fundamental Neuroscience Lab Steering Committee Chair
Associate Professor Ursula Rohlwink