Born and educated in South Africa, Dr Johann Slazus began his career in medicine at the Medical School of Stellenbosch, graduating M.B.Ch.B (Stell) in 1975. In 1979, he started his post-graduate training as a full-time resident in the Department of Ophthalmology at Tygerberg Hospital, qualifying MMed (Ophth) and FCS (SA) in 1983. He then joined the hospital as a part-time Consultant, a position he held until 1990.