He has left an indelible imprint on especially children with heart disease in the Western Cape and although he officially retired at the end of October, Prof John Lawrenson is fortunately planning to be involved in research into cardiac disease in children for many years to come.

For the past 20 years he has headed the Paediatric Cardiology Service of the Western Cape, a cross-platform paediatric unit serving patients at both the Red Cross Hospital and Tygerberg Hospital, as well as at the referral hospitals. He and his team of four other cardiologists and four fellows are involved in the training of cardiologists and general paediatricians from both Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town.

Asked about his career journey, which saw him becoming a paediatric cardiologist “by default", Lawrenson says he started off training as an adult physician at Groote Schuur Hospital. “I then trained as an adult cardiologist. After that I was offered an extra year's training in congenital heart disease.

“As a result of the political uncertainties of the early 1990s, many of my colleagues emigrated, and I became a paediatric cardiology consultant despite not being a paediatrician. I did another year's training in paediatric cardiology (a fellowship in paediatric cardiology at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium) later on that decade. In 2003, because of another round of staff shortages, the paediatric cardiology units at Red Cross and Tygerberg combined and complex cardiac surgery was all moved to Red Cross. I was the first Head of the combined unit, which is now 20 years old."

Becoming a paediatric cardiologist by default was very beneficial to his career, Lawrenson says. “I benefitted from the training as an adult cardiologist where trainees are exposed to more complex rhythm disorders and patients with complex valvular disorders than their paediatric colleagues. I also needed the patient support of my paediatric colleagues from the beginning and as result I have developed many long-standing professional relationships in many of the hospitals in the Cape. I feel very lucky to have so many excellent colleagues."

Lawrenson's clinical and research interests include echocardiography, rheumatic heart disease, the epidemiology of congenital heart disease and the life-time management of patients with complex heart disease. He is the lead investigator of the IMHOTEP, INVICTUS and PROTEA studies on heart disease at the Tygerberg Hospital site.

Asked to describe the effect of his life's work, Lawrenson says in the decades since he started, the chances of dying during cardiac surgery have dropped to less than three percent (from more than 10 percent) for even the most complex operations. “A child born with an abnormal heart now has a 95% chance of surviving to adulthood. That is due to a very complex team with a single goal.

“I have been lucky to work in a province and in hospitals where the growth of a service has been possible. I have been enabled to purchase high-quality equipment by sympathetic managers and good hospital trusts. The growth of the service has been translated into improved survival for children born with congenital heart disease."

The low points of his career have been “when I was unable to blend my family life with the commitments of my professional life; particularly at times of staff shortages when it felt like I was permanently on call".

Asked what inspired him during his career, Lawrenson says he “accidently" wound up working with people “whose main goal was to improve the life of children and their caregivers and who would do just about anything to achieve their goal".

When not at work, the he enjoys reading on a very wide range of topics. “I also have an eclectic taste in music. Although I can't play a musical instrument, I am blessed with having a family of musicians."

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