16 February 2026. – Dr Sumanth Karamchand, fellow in electrophysiology at the Cape Town AF Centre, performed the first pulse field ablation (PFA) using the Varipulse platform to map the correct area in the left atrium and pulmonary veins and then ablate the specified mapped area during the same procedure.
The patient, a 66-year old patient from Bellville, is now making good progress and based on futher tests, currently free of atrial fibrillation.
The procedure was the first of its kind performed not only in South Africa, but in Africa and the Middle East.
Dr Christian Sohn, deputy director at Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen in Hamburg, Germany, served as proctor to guide Dr Karamchand with the first case.
Dr Razeen Gopal, electrophysiologist at the CTAFC performed the second procedure, which was followed by two more in this first series on Tuesday, 17 February.
