A shoulder problem explained properly, before anyone talks about surgery.

How I approach a shoulder problem

As a shoulder surgeon my aim is to help you achieve the most suitable outcome for your shoulder problem. My primary clinical interests are shoulder joint replacement surgery, instability surgery, including dislocations, and rotator cuff issues.

For patients requiring consideration of shoulder replacement or instability surgery, CT scans have become increasingly important in decision-making. My office can assist you in organising appropriate imaging for your shoulder condition.

It is now accepted practice, due to high observed recurrence rates, for younger, physically active patients to be considered for early stabilisation following a shoulder dislocation. I consult on Tuesdays and Thursdays at St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital; my staff will do their best to fit you in if you need to be seen urgently.

I rely on MRI scans without contrast to assess patients for rotator cuff problems. I perform all rotator cuff surgery arthroscopically, as keyhole surgery.

Many patients live outside Brisbane, and I encourage patients, and their GPs, to consider an initial Telehealth consultation before travelling to Brisbane. Postoperative follow-up can usually be managed similarly without the need to travel to Brisbane for each appointment.

No one thinks about their shoulder very much; that is, until it goes bad, when they find they can’t work, they can’t sleep and they can’t play sport. Then they think about their shoulder all the time. What I love about what I do is helping people with their shoulder problems. I look forward to seeing you in my office.

Teaching, hospitals and the profession

I am the chief supervisor of three Australian Orthopaedic Association accredited fellowships in shoulder arthroscopy and arthroplasty, training three Australian or internationally trained orthopaedic surgeons in subspecialty shoulder surgery each year.

At St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital I have my private practice Shoulder Clinic. I worked in the Australian public hospital system for 16 years as an orthopaedic specialist, committing one day a week to Queensland public hospitals. For most of those my appointment was at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, more recently at the Mater Hospital. I resigned from my public appointment at the Mater Hospital in 2020 and now spend that time at the Queensland University of Technology. I still have public appointments at Cairns Base Hospital and the Princess Alexandra Hospital, which I visit several times a year.

At a state and national level I am actively engaged in surgical societies. I am a member of the Australian Society of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery and the Australian Hand Surgery Society. I am a past President of the Queensland Hand Surgery Society and a previous Scientific Secretary of the Queensland Branch of the AOA. I am a past Secretary of the Queensland Shoulder Society, and a past member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Queensland Regional Committee. At the Brisbane Private Hospital I was Chairman of the Patient Care Review Committee and a member of the Medical Advisory Committee for over 12 years.

I am Chair of the AOA Federal Fellowships Committee and Chairman of the Federal AOA Continuing Orthopaedic Education Committee. I was elected Scientific Secretary of the federal AOA in 2022 and currently serve on its national board. In January 2024 I stepped down as Queensland Chairman of the Australian Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Vice President of ASOS nationally.

The University of Queensland recognised my teaching of medical students and surgical colleagues, my research activities, and my contributions through leadership roles when it appointed me Associate Professor in 2016. The Queensland University of Technology appointed me Professor (adjunct) in 2022.