Family Medicine
FULL SPECTRUM
BOTOX
& FILLERS
AVIATION MEDICALS
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
ASSESSMENTS
FULL MEDICAL
CHECK-UPS
INSURANCE
MEDICALS
We are situated in Kenridge, Durbanville near Tygervalley Centre. Our practice is housed in the residential area near Kenridge Primary School. We have a strong family focus and we treat people of all ages and from all walks of life. We strive to provide a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.
Services
We provide the full spectrum of general practice which is the discipline of Family Medicine.
Dr Du Plessis is also qualified as an aviation medical practitioner as well as occupational health practitioner and therefore does South African, Mauritian and Namibian flight medicals as well as occupational health assessments. We do wellness/health prevention and full annual physical check-ups which can include stress ECG’s, lung function tests and audiometry (hearing assessments) in Cape Town. The scope of Family Medicine includes minor procedures like cryotherapy of warts and skin tags as well as excision of small lesions such as moles. Non-surgical aesthetic procedures such as Botox, fillers and fat lipolysis are also provided, as well as Botox for medical problems such as teeth grinding, excessive sweating and headaches. We are also involved with the Slender Wonder weight loss programme.
We have a holistic approach but as scientists we endeavour to follow evidence-based medicine. We believe in quality care and therefore usually book 30 minute appointments. We see each patient contact as an opportunity to do health prevention, promotion and education
Aesthetic practice
The goal of medical care is not just to prolong life but to also have a quality life and that includes helping the patient feel good about the way that they look. Dr Bekker believes in helping the patient by slowing down the process of ageing and restoring youth in such a way that the patient looks natural.
Dr Bekker received her training from Dr Renier van Aardt who has one of the biggest aesthetic practices in Canada. She did the basic course in August 2013 and she finished her advance training in January 2014.
Non-surgical aesthetic treatments are becoming more popular because they are quicker, less painful and more subtle than invasive plastic surgery. Dr Bekker uses Juvéderm fillers which contains hyaluronic acid which is a substance that occurs naturally in the body and decreases as we age. It not only fills wrinkles, but also replaces what the skin has lost over time. Allergan Botulinum Toxin relaxes hyperactive muscle and therefore improves dynamic facial lines such as frown lines.
Cecarrelli fat lipolysis is a new safe innovative treatment to dissolve fat and re-sculpt the contours of the face, neck and body. The solution is made up of vitamin C and iron and when injected, acts on the fat cells and cause a process of natural fat cell death.
Doctors
Dr Debbie Bekker
Dr Bekker grew up in Durbanville and finished her MBChB at Stellenbosch University in 1992. After her housemanship year (in Internal Medicine, Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Dermatology), she worked in Pediatrics at Tygerberg Hospital for a year. She then joined the SANDF where she worked as a general practitioner at different locations for almost 9 years. In this time she specialised in Family Medicine and obtained her Master’s degree cum laude. Her research on alcohol misuse was published in the South African Family Practice Journal of March 2003. When she resigned at the end of 2003, she was a Chief Medical Officer with the rank of major. In 2004 she started her own private practice at Kenridge Centre and then moved to the current location in 2011.
She is a caring person who has a passion for medicine which she regarded as her calling from the age of 11.
She has 2 young adult daughters, 2 cats and 2 yorkies. (She lost her husband in a cycling accident in 2009.) Time is her most precious possession and if there is any left, she enjoys travelling, learning new things, reading, Netflix movies and series, documentaries, watching news, cooking, wine tasting, painting, art and music.
Dr Berlize du Plessis
Dr Berlize du Plessis grew up in Saldanha on the West Coast and in Pretoria, before obtaining her MBChB at the University of Stellenbosch in 2007.
She completed her internship at 2 Military Hospital in Wynberg and did her community service year at Wingfield Health Centre. Near the end of 2010 she became the full-time doctor at the Air Force Base Ysterplaat, within the SA National Defence Force – among other duties responsible for the flight medicals on the base.
Dr Du Plessis furthermore studied at the Institute for Aviation Medicine. After her passion for the flying environment was cultivated, she soon found herself wrapped up in aviation studies, doing NVG (night flying) training, dingy training and even helicopter underwater escape training.
During this time, she practised general family medicine at the Ysterplaat sickbay, and 2 Military Hospital after hours, and developed minor surgical skills, before completing the basic surgical skills course at the University of Cape Town. In 2014 she obtained the Diploma in Occupational Health at UCT with distinction.
In January 2016 she joined Dr Debbie Bekker.
Since her youth Berlize du Plessis has been active in outdoor activities. She has completed several Ironman events and represented Triathlon South Africa twice at the world championships. If she is not working or relaxing at home with her sons and husband, she will be found swimming, cycling or running.
She still firmly believes in the motto of the Saldanha Primary School – from the prayer of the Roman poet Juvenal – Mens sana in corpore sano: A healthy spirit lives in a healthy body.
Dr Leta Meyer
Dr Leta Meyer grew up in Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape and completed her MBChB at the University of the Free State in 2015.
She completed her 2-years internship at Uitenhage Hospital and did her 1-year community service at Humansdorp Hospital. She then moved to Cape Town where she did locum work at private hospital emergency centres and GP practices. She started working in the emergency centre at Victoria Hospital in Wynberg in October 2019. During her time there she gained a lot of experience in managing medical, surgical, paediatric and trauma related emergencies. She also completed her Diploma in Primary Emergency Care in 2021.
She is a compassionate and caring person with a passion for medicine.
In her free time, she loves spending time with her husband and daughter. She enjoys mountain biking, hiking and reading.
Dr Trixie Pieterse
Dr Pieterse grew up in Port Elizabeth and finished her MBChB at the University of Stellenbosch in 1997.
She did her internship at Conradie Hospital in Cape Town followed by her community service year at Eben Donges Hospital in Worcester and Ceres Hospital in Ceres.
She worked at a private practice in Kuilsriver before moving to London with her husband in 2001. In London she worked as a General Practitioner in the NHS and as a Medical Officer in Accidents and Emergency in the busy Earling Hospital in London.
In 2002 she founded Putney Mediclinic and was the first South African doctor to open a private general practice in London. The practice grew and she got more doctors involved as well as a physiotherapist, psychologist and dietician. She opened a second branch in Guildford in 2004 and a third branch in Wimbledon in 2005. Some of the services included doctors’ consultations, medical check-ups, sexual health screens, minor surgery, travel vaccinations and dispensing of medication.
In 2007 she sold the practices and moved back to Cape Town. She then worked at a practice specializing in breast cancer screening and diagnosis and assisted in theatre for breast cancer reconstruction surgeries after mastectomies. She also worked for 2 years at Panorama Cancer Care in oncology where she did mostly breast cancer follow-ups.
Dr Pieterse joined Dr Bekker in 2021.
She has been married for more than 20 years and has 2 teenage boys and a teenage daughter. She loves travelling, the bush, visiting the gym, wine tasting, reading and spending time with her family and friends. She equaled the 100-meter Western Province sprint record in 2015 for her age group and received a bronze medal at the South African Masters Athletics Championship for the 100 meter sprint in that same year.
Reception Staff
Simone and Willine are our friendly ladies at reception and operates the switchboard. Riana manages the financial side as well as the normal day to day tasks of the practice.
Facilities
Appointments and fees
We are a “cash practice”: Payment must be done immediately after the consultation and it is then the responsibility of the patient to claim the amount from his/her medical aid. Credit card facilities are available. We charge private practice fees which compare with the surrounding general practices even though we make longer appointments than the standard 15 minutes.
We work by appointment only. Missed appointments which were not cancelled timeously, may be billed for.
We do charge for telephonic consultations as well as prescriptions without seeing the doctor as listed in the doctor’s billing manual. These requests cannot always be accommodated and then the patient will be required to make an appointment.
Contact
Hours
Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00
Saturday 09:00 to 12:00
After hours emergencies are referred to the surrounding Mediclinics as well as Intercare next to Tygervalley Centre.