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Professor Lydia Cairncross is Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital Academic Complex. She was appointed to this position effective 1 January 2023. She has been a staff member at the University of Cape Town since 2010 and was promoted to associate professor in the Department of Surgery in 2020. Professor Cairncross holds the qualifications MBChB, FCS(SA) and MMed (Surg). She began her medical studies at the University of Cape Town in 1994.
Professor Cairncross leads the academic Division of General Surgery and has previously headed the Breast and Endocrine Surgery Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital. She is recognised for her leadership in developing context-appropriate national policy guidelines for surgical conditions and for spearheading research into earlier diagnosis of cancer. She serves as Director for Advocacy and Community Engagement in the UCT Division of Global Surgery. Professor Cairncross has engaged in public advocacy for improved access, quality and equity in healthcare through roles including technical advisor to the National Department of Health, member of a Ministerial Advisory Committee, and work with organisations such as the Treatment Action Campaign, Cancer Alliance, the C-19 People’s Coalition and the People’s Health Movement of South Africa. She has instituted interventions to support postgraduate teaching and learning, including integrated clinical training programmes and workplace-based assessment models. Professor Cairncross delivered her UCT Inaugural Lecture in November 2023. She received recognition at the South African Excellence in Health Awards.
Explore SAMJ March 2026 key papers from UKZN, UCT, Wits on rural trauma prediction, breast cancer surgery gaps, and falling adolescent pregnancies in South Africa.
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