Dr. Johan van der Merwe qualified as specialist cardiothoracic surgeon and intensivist in 2010 (University of Pretoria, South Africa) as one of the youngest successful graduates in South Africa and completed certified fellowships at the Royal Brompton Hospital (London, United Kingdom), University Hospital Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) and Onze Lieve Vrouw Clinic (Aalst, Belgium) between 2011 and 2016 with sub-specialization in robotic-, keyhole (minimally invasive)- and transcatheter cardiovascular- and thoracic surgery.
He was involved in more than 60 heart transplants during this period and became the first African to be admitted as a Fellow to the European Board of Cardiothoracic Surgeons (EBCTS) following the successful participation (cum laude, 2nd place, 200 candidates) in the pan-European cardiothoracic surgery examination (FETCS) in October 2016.
He established the Keyhole Thorax Centre in Cape Town (South Africa) in 2017 and successfully initiated super-specialised- and exclusive keyhole (minimally invasive) aortic valve-, mitral valve-, tricuspid valve-, transcatheter aortic valve (TAVI)- and keyhole lung surgery programs with the support of international peers and keyhole (minimally invasive) cardiothoracic experts.
He obtained his doctorate degree (PhD) on “An appraisal of advanced techniques in endoscopic Port Access™ atrioventricular valve surgery” from Erasmus University (Rotterdam, Netherlands) in 2019, first authored more than 25 international peer reviewed publications on keyhole (minimally invasive) heart valve surgery up to date (2023), was awarded the prestigious International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery (ISMICS) prize for his collaborative manuscript on robotic assisted coronary artery bypass surgery in 2019, serve on the editorial board of various international journals and recently became an active member of the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery (EACTS) guideline task force committee.
Dr. Johan van der Merwe initiated Africa`s first robotic cardiothoracic program at Netcare Chris Barnard Memorial Hospital in 2022 and is currently the only certified robotic cardiothoracic surgeon in Africa. He is currently based in Cape Town (South Africa), performed more than 6500 adult and congenital cardiothoracic surgery procedures, with more than 1500 being consecutive keyhole (minimally invasive) procedures. His team was the first in Africa to successfully perform a simultaneous aortic- and mitral valve replacement without any skin incisions, to use shock-wave therapy to obtain safe access for TAVI in 2022, to perform the first combined transcatheter mitral valve replacement and coronary artery bypass surgery and was also awarded centre-of-excellence status in 2017 after hosting Africa`s first dedicated cardiac surgical unit advance life support (CSU-ALS) provider courses.
Dr. Johan van der Merwe established the African Centre for Cardiothoracic Training and Education in 2023 as a training platform for minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery-, catheterization laboratory emergency scenario- (REACT), cardiac surgery acute life support (CALS) and other educational courses relevant to cardiothoracic patient care. He was a founding member of the Faculty of Medical Leadership (Royal College of Physicians, United Kingdom) in 2011, supervises various quality control / clinical governance / service delivery improvement programs. serve as chairman and executive member of various clinical management boards and actively contribute to various international and local cardiothoracic-, intensive care-, trauma- and leadership societies.
He is a frequent contributor to local and international scientific conferences and established Atlantic Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute in 2018 as platform for robotic- and keyhole cardiovascular surgical product development within an African context in collaboration with industry and various academic centres. Dr. Johan van der Merwe is married, have 2 children, plays competitive tennis and golf and continues to develop himself as a state-of-the-art cardiothoracic surgeon, an innovative researcher / technology developer, an enthusiastic teacher / trainer and a collaborative leader and team player.
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