​Tebogo Tladi
 
A 47-year-old Absolom Khanye attributed short breath and tiredness he often experienced to work stress and had no thoughts of a heart condition.
 He says it was only when the breathing struggle became intense that he decided to seek medical help.
 "The constant tiredness began to affect both my work and personal life. The quality of my health deteriorated and my bank balance was aImost zero from all the private doctor consultation which were fruitless as I was not getting better," recalls the father of five.

One of the doctors referred him to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) last year and following a series of tests that he was diagnosed with Aortic Valve Regurgitation caused by his untreated hypertension.
 According to medical website (https://www.heart.org/en) Aortic Valve Regurgitation is leakage of blood through the heart's aortic valve each time the left ventricle relaxes.
 A leaking (or regurgitant) aortic valve allows blood to flow in two directions. Oxygen-rich blood flows out through the aorta to the body — as it should — but some flows backwards from the aorta into the left ventricle when the ventricle relaxes.
It was upon diagnosis that he was reliably informed that he required a specialised surgery and was simultaneously placed on the hospital waiting list.
Detailing the particular surgery, the hospital's Head of Cardiothoracic Department Dr Shungu Mogaladi said:"The patient will undergo cardiothoracic surgery, which is a surgical treatment by making an incision on his chest; where we can either repair or replace his failing organ,".
"In this particular case, we will be doing a valve replacement which requires either a mechanical valve replacement, where we replace the damaged valve with an artificial one made of plastic or metal or a tissue valve replacement where valves harvested from a pig or cow's heart and surgically transplanted to the recipient,"
"In Absolom's case, we have opted for the mechanical option which will add an estimated thirty or more years to his life expectancy minus the need to operate again like the alternative," specified Dr Mogaladi.​
According to the doctor, Absalom will be the third recipient of this life saving surgery at the hospital. In private facilities, the procedure costs between R300 000 and R500 000 (depending on potential medical complications in the process).
On Friday, 11 September 2020 at approximately 09h00, Absolom Khanye successfully underwent mechanical valve replacement surgery at CMJAH – a blessing he calls his second chance at life.
"Through this episode in my life, I have learnt the importance of regular medical check-ups so conditions can be identified sooner to avoid complications," concluded a grateful Absalom.