Dr. Tlotlo Kgosi

Dr. Tlotlo Kgosi is an ophthalmologist at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone — Botswana's largest public hospital and the main referral centre for specialist eye care in the country. With 15 years of ophthalmic practice, Dr. Kgosi provides surgical and medical eye care for patients from Botswana and surrounding Southern African nations.

Botswana faces a significant burden of preventable blindness from cataracts and from complications of the country's high rates of diabetes and HIV infection. Diabetic retinopathy and cataract are the leading causes of visual impairment among Botswana's ageing and diabetic populations, and Dr. Kgosi's work in surgical eye care directly addresses this burden.

Dr. Kgosi trained in cataract surgery at the Aravind Eye Hospital in India — the world's highest-volume cataract surgery centre — which gave him exceptional surgical efficiency and exposure to both phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) techniques. He returned to Botswana to build Princess Marina's ophthalmology capacity and has since performed thousands of cataract extractions.

Dr. Kgosi completed his MBChB at the University of Botswana, then trained in ophthalmology earning the MMed (Ophthalmology) through the University of South Africa (UNISA) training consortium. He completed a clinical fellowship in cataract surgery at the Aravind Eye Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India — one of the world's most respected centres for high-volume ophthalmic surgical training. He has participated in the International Council of Ophthalmology continuing education programme and attends the Africa Vision Research Institute annual symposium.

Dr. Kgosi performs phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) for cataract extraction. In glaucoma, he performs trabeculectomy for primary open-angle glaucoma and manages patients with angle-closure glaucoma with laser iridotomy. He administers intravitreal anti-VEGF injections (bevacizumab, ranibizumab) for diabetic macular oedema and neovascular AMD. He performs laser photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. He also manages pterygium, strabismus referrals, and low vision rehabilitation.

Dr. Kgosi provides specialist ophthalmic care at Princess Marina Hospital primarily for Botswana's domestic population, but the hospital's position as the main national referral centre also makes it a destination for patients from neighbouring Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa seeking cataract surgery or glaucoma management. He consults in English and Setswana, making him accessible to patients across Southern Africa's English-speaking community. International tourists and expatriates in Gaborone requiring urgent ophthalmic care — corneal foreign body removal, acute eye trauma, or diabetic eye assessment — can access the ophthalmology outpatient department. Patients from regional countries seeking cataract surgery or diabetic retinopathy management may contact the hospital's ophthalmology department to arrange a consultation and discuss travel requirements.

Dr. Kgosi is a member of the Botswana Medical Association, the Africa Vision Research Institute, and the International Council of Ophthalmology, reflecting his engagement with both national and global ophthalmic communities. His fellowship at the Aravind Eye Hospital in India — the world's highest-volume cataract surgery training centre — is internationally recognised as one of the most rigorous experiences available in high-volume surgical ophthalmology. He has contributed to Botswana's national eye health programme and has participated in outreach surgical camps in rural communities, providing sight-restoring cataract surgery to patients who cannot access hospital-based services in Gaborone. He mentors junior ophthalmologists and has trained ophthalmic nurses in cataract surgery assistance and post-operative care.