I’m Dr Caryn April, a medical doctor, who is passionate about inclusive, patient-centred care and chronic pain management.

I have more than a decade of experience in emergency medicine and surgery, having worked in both government and private hospitals throughout South Africa.

I graduated from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2010 with a distinction in clinical and final clinical examinations. I won the class medal for surgery and the Donald Barnes prize for the top student in Urology in my final year of medical school. After graduating from UCT, I completed a two-year internship program at the Pietermaritzburg Hospital Complex in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

I went on to do my community service at the Khayelitsha District Hospital in the emergency unit and completed my post-graduate Diploma in Primary Emergency Care in 2013. I practiced as a full-time emergency medicine practitioner for the Melomed Hospital Group for the next four years where I managed all types of surgical, medical and paediatric emergencies and assisted in the intensive care units (ICU).

In 2018, I decided to pursue surgery, first as a medical officer and then as a registrar in general surgery at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).  During that time, I obtained my primary examinations in general surgery, attended numerous surgical skills workshops and performed operations, both emergency and elective, on patients up until 2021.

After losing my father to Covid-19 during the first wave, I decided to relocate back to Cape Town to be closer to my family in February 2021. This life-changing event led me to pursue a career where I could still perform surgical procedures and have a good quality of life.

Pain being at the centre of every condition I have previously treated, but now having the ability to manage this pain with minimally invasive interventional pain procedures. This led me to join the PAIN Collective in February 2021, where I further developed my skills and knowledge of interventional pain procedures. I attended cadaver skills workshops at Stellenbosch University, numerous TrainPain academic courses to advance my knowledge of chronic pain management, as well as the PainSA Congress where I presented my research in two poster presentations.

From the 1st July 2022, I started my independent practice in the Foreshore, where I focus on patient-centred wellness, pain management, and health promotion. Honestly, this is literally my dream being realised, I love what I do, and I am blessed to carry out my passion every day.

The cornerstone of my wellness practice is helping patients with pain, offering them up-to-date and evidence-informed treatment options, and specialising in minimally invasive interventional pain procedures. The purpose of my practice is to restore hope and quality of life by focusing on a therapeutic relationship which promotes wellness, and not only the absence of pain or disease.

I believe in an interdisciplinary team approach to pain management. For this reason, I have formed partnerships and associations with a group of highly-skilled and experienced health professionals which include neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, biokineticists, an occupational therapist, a dietician, and a psychologist – all of whom are located on the same floor for your convenience.