Dr. Themba Mkhonta

Dr. Themba Mkhonta is the principal general surgeon at Mbabane Government Hospital, Eswatini's national referral hospital, where he has practiced for 18 years. As the main public sector surgical provider in a country of approximately 1.2 million people, Dr. Mkhonta carries an enormous individual clinical responsibility, managing the full spectrum of general surgical emergencies and elective procedures for a population that has limited access to alternative surgical facilities. Eswatini's HIV epidemic has shaped the surgical caseload in distinctive ways: Kaposi's sarcoma, an HIV-related malignancy, presents as a surgical challenge in patients requiring excision of obstructing or disfiguring lesions, and the immunosuppression associated with advanced HIV increases the risk of surgical sepsis and impairs wound healing in the postoperative period. Dr. Mkhonta has adapted his surgical practice to address these realities, working closely with infectious disease colleagues to optimise patients' HIV status before elective surgery and to manage postoperative complications in immunocompromised individuals. Beyond the HIV dimension, he manages a steady volume of emergency abdominal surgery, trauma cases arising from road accidents, and elective procedures including hernia repair and cholecystectomy. He is a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (FCS ECSA) and communicates with patients in English and SiSwati.

Dr. Mkhonta completed his MBChB at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, a training destination for several generations of Swazi medical graduates, and undertook his surgical specialist training leading to the FCS (ECSA) qualification through the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, which runs a postgraduate training programme across the East and Southern African region. His training included surgical rotations at hospitals in Zimbabwe and South Africa, providing breadth of exposure to the surgical conditions most prevalent in the ECSA region.

Dr. Mkhonta performs appendicectomy, repair of inguinal and abdominal wall hernias, open cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallbladder disease, bowel resection and stoma formation for obstruction and colorectal pathology, and emergency laparotomy for trauma and abdominal sepsis. He manages the surgical aspects of Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV-positive patients, including excision of lesions causing functional impairment. His trauma surgery experience covers penetrating and blunt abdominal injuries. He performs colostomy and manages complex wound care in the postoperative setting, including for patients with impaired healing due to diabetes or immunosuppression.

Dr. Mkhonta has participated in surgical audit processes at Mbabane Government Hospital and has contributed clinical case data to ECSA regional surgical outcome studies. He has presented at the annual scientific meeting of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa on surgical outcomes in HIV-positive patients and on trauma surgery management in resource-limited settings. He is an active member of the Eswatini Medical and Dental Association.

Dr. Mkhonta provides surgical care for international visitors and expatriates in Mbabane who require emergency or elective surgical intervention during their stay in Eswatini. He communicates in English and is experienced in managing patients whose primary care is delivered in South Africa or further afield. Surgical consultation appointments at Mbabane Government Hospital are arranged through the outpatient surgical department.

Dr. Mkhonta holds the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa and is the only FCS (ECSA)-qualified surgeon based at Mbabane Government Hospital. He is recognised nationally for his essential contribution to surgical care in Eswatini and by the College of Surgeons for his commitment to practising in an underserved public hospital setting.