Dr Theunis Christoffel Botha (MBChB, Dip Ophth (SA), MMed (U), FCOphth (SA)) grew up in the city of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). The surroundings of his hometown gave him a profound love for the outdoors, especially the ocean which has inspired many of his hobbies, such as swimming, rowing, and spearfishing. He also recently took up surfing alongside his wife. His holidays typically include searching for rare birds in desolate locations with the help of his loving family.

Ophthalmology is not only a job for Dr Botha but also his biggest hobby. Being a true surgeon at heart, working inside the eye is one of his greatest joys. He has followed this passion from early medical school days to today. His studies, as well as numerous tours for the blind, have taken him and his family to all of the provinces within South Africa. He has also operated in Malawi where he serviced an underprivileged community. On these tours, multiple cataract surgeries are done on a day. His highlight was operating 101 cataract blind patients in 4 days on an outreach in Limpopo.

Today he sees himself as a General Ophthalmologist doing everything within the scope of ophthalmology. But his niche remains to be cataract surgery, specifically refractive cataract surgery. He has recently added a refractive service to his repertoire by getting a modern corneal Excimer Laser. This enables Dr Botha to provide a wider spectrum of services to the community.

Theunis’ life philosophy: One should never compare yourself with someone else, but continually compare yourself to yourself and actively work on improvement while doing this.