Dr. Asha Malan is a Specialist Vascular Surgeon at BloemVascular, located in Life Rosepark Hospital, Bloemfontein. Born and raised in Potchefstroom, Dr. Malan is not only a dedicated surgeon but also happily married to her husband Jacques, a physiotherapist, and mother to a 6-month-old baby girl.
“As a vascular surgeon you need detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the entire body. It requires meticulous planning and it can actually be referred to as the engineering of surgery – you are sometimes required to come up with solutions to problems that no textbook will contain. It needs a creative and innovative way of thinking and I love every moment,” she explains.
Dr. Malan started her career at Universitas Academic Hospital and was appointed as the Head of Vascular Surgery at the University of the Free State – a role she fulfilled until May 2024.
During her time she was actively involved in the teaching and training of medical students and surgeons-in-training and was promoted to Associated Professor in 2023. She was the Chairperson for the 2023 Vascular Surgery Congress in Cape Town and was subsequently elected as the President Elect for the Vascular Society of Southern Africa (VASSA) in 2023 – becoming the first women to hold this office in the 40-year existence of VASSA.
Her dream of establishing a nationally recognised quality Vascular Surgery unit led to the opening of her private practice, BloemVascular, in June 2024.
“Opening my private practice and being part of the planning of building the first hybrid theatre in the Free State and Northern Cape is a step closer to accomplishing that dream,” she shares.
“This will allow us to provide a state-of-the-art specialised vascular surgical service to the population of central South Africa – a service that is desperately needed and long overdue,” she adds.
Dr. Malan has a particular interest in the management of complex aortic aneurysm disease and visited and trained in the USA, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. She also performed the first complex endovascular aortic repair in the state sector in South Africa.
Her inspiration to pursue a career in Medicine began early. “I first decided to become a medical doctor at school when my biology teacher, Mrs. Em Volschenk, triggered an appreciation for the mechanics of the human body,” she recalls.
After completing her undergraduate medical training at the UFS in 2008, she specialised in General Surgery before finding her passion for Vascular Surgery. “I believe that Vascular Surgery is one of the most beautiful types of surgery. It is neat and clean but at the same time challenging. It provides the opportunity to perform surgery on any part of the body and refine your surgical skills,” she explains.
Balancing professional responsibilities and personal life is crucial for Dr. Malan. “Due to the long hours and the demanding nature of the work, surgery has always had a negative reputation. Surgeons must be available virtually constantly, which is a schedule that doesn’t fit with what women are typically expected to do,” she acknowledges.
However, she believes in the multitasking abilities of women. “Not only can we do several things at once, but we can also do them well. Females have mastered the art of balancing the demands of both their work and personal lives more and more and society is generally more receptive to this as well,” she explains. “I have the additional benefit of a very supportive husband and I want to raise my daughter to be proud of this,” she adds.
Text: JUSTINE FORTUIN Photograph: SUPPLIED
