It took just 38mm of micro-tech to mark a major moment for South African healthcare, as specialists implanted the nation’s first leadless pacemaker with precision and success.
Centurion, South Africa (09 December 2025) – A powerful shift has just taken place in South African healthcare, one so small you could balance it on your fingertip, yet significant enough to shape the future of cardiac treatment.
A pioneering procedure at Netcare Unitas Hospital has seen a tiny, leadless pacemaker implanted directly into the heart of a patient, introducing a new chapter in life-saving technology and marking an extraordinary moment for local medical innovation.
The device, known as the AVEIR VR Leadless Pacemaker (LP), is the first of its kind ever implanted in South Africa and only the second on the entire continent. It measures just 38mm, a fraction of the size of a AAA battery, yet carries the promise of transforming care for people living with heart rhythm disorders.
In late November, cardiologist Dr Jean Vorster and electrophysiologist Dr Jane Moses performed the landmark procedure using a minimally invasive technique that signals a remarkable leap forward in micro-tech solutions for cardiac health.
“Although pacemakers have become smaller with longer battery life over the past two to three decades, there has been little advancement in the therapy,” explains Dr Vorster, who practises at Netcare Unitas Hospital.
That is precisely why this moment is so meaningful. Traditional pacemakers rely on leads that run through veins into the heart, and patients are often left with a visible chest bulge or scar, a daily reminder of their condition. This new generation LP changes all of that.
“This latest iteration of pacemaker technology not only eliminates the need for leads, which are usually implanted through the veins leading to the heart, but there is also the aesthetic advantage that the patient is no longer left with a bulge in their chest… because this LP is so small,” says Dr Vorster. “The AVEIR VR LP is also unique in the considerable advancement in the algorithms and programming of the device.”
The single-chamber device sits comfortably within the lower right ventricle of the heart. But as Dr Jane Moses points out, its true significance lies in what it makes possible next.
“While this single chamber device is good news in itself for the treatment of heart rhythm disorders, the major significance of this technology lies in the possibilities it presents for further breakthroughs in the near future.”
That future feels much closer now.
Designed for precision, the pacemaker is inserted and positioned using a slim catheter guided through the femoral vein. No chest incision required. Before it’s secured, the system can map the area, measure electrical activity, and determine the exact point of optimal contact. Once confirmed, the pacemaker is gently rotated to anchor it into the heart’s muscular inner wall. It can even be retrieved if needed.
For patients, the benefits are immediate. There are fewer risks of infection, no concerns about lead degradation, and often a significantly shorter recovery time.
“Eliminating leads is really a game-changer in pacemaker technology,” Dr Vorster says. “In Europe, some patients can return home on the day of the procedure, reducing the need for hospital recovery.”
Dr Moses adds that while leadless pacemakers are currently reserved for specific cases, such as patients with infections or insufficient access for traditional leads, this breakthrough sets the stage for something extraordinary.
“As the first in the country and only the second such device implanted on the continent, we are encouraged that this technology is paving the way for further developments.”
One of those developments could soon be dual-chamber, leadless pacing: a device in the ventricle and another in the atrium, communicating to replicate more natural heart rhythms.
“In the not-too-distant future, we can foresee the benefits… to restore regular, healthy heartbeats for a wider range of conditions to bring hope to more patients,” Dr Moses says.
And that’s the heart of this story: hope.
Hope wrapped in innovation. Hope delivered through a device smaller than we ever thought possible. Hope for thousands of South Africans who may one day benefit from micro-tech that feels more like science fantasy becoming science fact.
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