Maja Julia Wojno

What does your company do?

Hello Santam & Fairlady team! 💖 I recently started my own niche female-led medical practice specialising in the minimally-invasive treatment of uterine fibroids (a condition affecting up to 80% of women during their lifetime) The uterine fibroid embolization procedure has revolutionised fibroid treatment by providing a “no scalpel” option for uterine fibroids and as an alternative to invasive surgery such a hysterectomy. It is a uterine-sparing option and incredibly is all performed through a small pinhole in the wrist with no surgical cuts or stitches! We use specialized X-rays to navigate a tiny tube into the arteries feeding the fibroids and inject tiny microbeads to block the blood flow to them causing them to shrink and relieve heavy, painful periods. The field of interventional radiology is still growing in South Africa and I am one of a handful of female specialists offering this procedure in our country. I believe that as female clinicians we have a compassion, empathy and understanding for our patients suffering from these conditions that uniquely affect us. 💖 Uterine fibroids are very common, particularly in the African population and can cause severe debilitating symptoms and many patients face invasive surgery. Adenomyosis is another gynaecological condition for which the main treatment option was a hysterectomy. The uterine artery embolization procedure has changed this and now patients can choose a uterine-sparing option. Many of my patients struggle for years not knowing what to do. I am raising awareness about these minimally-invasive options for patients in our country who often delay treatments for years and suffer in silence due to fear of surgery, the stigma related to their fibroids, heavy periods or lack of awareness of their treatment options. I truly hope that I can raise awareness about these conditions so that more of my patients can find the help they need ❤️ I also want to inspire future young doctors, especially females to join the interventional radiology field as the surgical specialties are male-dominated and I feel female surgeons have so much to offer!

What is your biggest success?

Every patient that we help and alleviate their symptoms is an incredible privilege and success. Many of my patients come to us after exhausting all possible options often due to fear of their condition and the thought of surgery. The terribly sad statistic is that patients wait approximately 3.6 years before seeking treatment for fibroids. This means that these patients suffer for years with debilitating pain and heavy bleeding. Many patients are often only given invasive surgical treatments such a hysterectomy as their only option and are unaware of minimally invasive treatments that offer quicker recovery, less complications and a uterine sparing option. Fibroid treatment awareness is very rewarding as we can help many of these patients understand their symptoms and their treatment options as many have been suffering for years due to avoidance and fear of surgery.

What has been your biggest hurdle?

It's always tough jumping off the cliff and starting your own medical practice! In my speciality of interventional radiology, the field is almost entirely male-dominated and this can often be quite intimidating. I recently completed an incredibly inspiring program (The EMERGE Program hosted by Boston Scientific) for women in the Vascular and Interventional Radiology space and represented South Africa for an 18 month course hosted in part in Madrid, Spain. It covered the many challenges we face as women in the surgical space where we are often too shy to speak up and often overlooked in terms of our opinions and capacity as medical professionals. It has been a huge stepping stone in my career to find a place where I feel valuable. I feel that women have a unique understanding, empathy and approach to treatment and patient management, particularly when it comes to treating female conditions. In my speciality, women with fibroids and or adenomyosis often come to us after being told that their only option is a hysterectomy. These patients are often unaware that there are minimally-invasive options that are available and I feel it's necessary to be an ambassador for minimally-invasive procedures and uterine-sparing options. There is still a lot of room for growth in terms of the level of awareness about these treatment options. Being also diagnosed with Adenomyosis, I can relate to the debilitating pain and suffering these patients go through and it motivates me even more to share the incredible treatment options available for these patients!