I am an orthopaedic surgeon who has a special interest in wrists, hips and knees.

Indeed. Tell me about it. Most people said it couldn't be done. I showed them!

Cooking? No. Surgery? Not bad. As orthopaedic surgeons we have all had at least 5 years of rigourous specialist training, not to mention the years of preparation prior and subsequent to our formal training. So most of us are indeed very good at what we do.

No, I'll be happy to see you if you don't have private insurance, but if surgery is needed, I'd have to refer you to a public hospital. I have appointments at Eastern Health and at St Vincent's, so do operate publicly. Just to note though, if you need surgery in a public hospital, I will still have to see you there before I place you on a waiting list for surgery. I have no control as to how quickly you will get your operation. I cannot place you directly onto the public waiting list from my rooms. Your GP can directly refer you to a public hospital as well. Please don't assume you will get surgery much quicker by seeing me in my rooms as opposed to being directly referred to a public hospital by your GP.

I believe in being transparent regarding my fees: For your consultation, my fees are: -$250 for a new patient (30 minutes) -$100 for a review appointment (15 minutes) -The post-operative check-up in free On average you'll require 2 visits: the first to be seen and assessed, and further investigations organized, the second to discuss the results of the investigations and have a chat about management. But I do attempt to minimize the number of visits as much as possible. For surgery, with most insurance companies my out-of-pocket fee is $500. Often the anaesthetist charges a gap of $150-$600 and the surgical assistant charges a gap of $100. Depending on the operation required, there is usually some physio or hand therapy required afterwards, and this tends to be an added cost, depending on your health insurance. For DVA, TAC or WorkCover patients there is usually no out of pocket costs either for the consultation, physiotherapy or the surgery. There may be added costs if your insurance company is NIB or Qantas, as these insurance companies re-imburse far below market rates. We will let you know well in advance if this is to be the case. For big operations, like joint replacement surgery, you will also require a physician to look after your medical conditions whilst in hospital (this will be arranged by us) and you will often need a set of blood tests before your operation. I do operate on self-funded patients and can provide a quote as costs vary considerably depending on operation and prosthesis requirements.

Please bring your referral and x-rays. If you do not speak english well, a person who can translate would also be beneficial. To get the best value out of your consult, please ensure you send in your referral prior to attending, as that will give me the opportunity to find and assess your x-rays online prior to your appointment. Please wear clothes that will easily allow examination of your affected limb.

Yes, I promise. I was raised and trained in Australia. I do talk fast, but it's all in english.

I operate predominantly at Epworth Eastern and Glenferrie Private but am also accredited to operate at Epworth Freemasons (East Melbourne). I operate publicly at St Vincent's Hospital and Box Hill Hospital.

Yes, of course! I do make a few jokes here and there, but only because I think a bit of humour is necessary in life and is indeed the best medicine....unless you're diabetic...then insulin! Insulin is the best medicine.

My goal is only to provide you with unbiased information and options. I only recommend surgery if I think it will benefit you. Like my recommendations for surgery, my choice in automobile tends to be safe, sensible and affordable.

Although ideal when servicing your car or vacuum cleaner, using genuine human parts in surgery is generally frowned upon. You can however be reassured that I only use artifical parts which have been tried and tested and have a strong track record of reliability and safety. I have no conflict-of-interest regarding the prostheses I use.

Unfortunately, unlike some surgeons who were smart enough to invest in google optimisation and advertising, I took a punt that Ask Jeeves would become a hit again and invested all my advertising budget on them. I am sure it'll pay off any day now...

Google reviews are totally spontaneous and surgeons definitely don't cherry-pick who they ask to leave a review. That's why I am sure you've Google reviewed all the other doctors you've seen in the past. Asking patients to leave google reviews raises a number of ethical considerations. It is against a doctor's code of conduct to advertise testimonials, but some doctor's get around this by asking for Google reviews, which appear to be spontaneous. If you find a surgeon with lots of 5-star reviews, look at the number of reviews each reviewer has posted in the past. If it's just one or a handful, then it is likely that the review has been solicited and not spontaneous. Now go look at your favourite restaurant's google reviews and note how many reviews have been posted by those reviewer in the past. You'll find this number is much higher, indicating their spontaneity. Although I do appreciate feedback and word-of-mouth referrals, I think this is best done privately and directly rather than asking patients to leave online reviews.

You may have confused "sturgeon" with "surgeon". Common mistake. Much more detrimental if made the other way.

I tried. Fortunately my photogenecity is not proportional to my surgical skills.

Just this cat:* *cat may not be a celebrity nor be endorsing me.