Northern Private Hospital welcomes Mr Patrick Tansley.

Mr Tansley has lived in Australia since 2011 and is an Australian citizen. He practises plastic and reconstructive surgery as a registered medical practitioner, Plastic Surgeon (with registration in Surgery - Plastic Surgery) (MED 0001651716) and has an interest in cosmetic (aesthetic) plastic surgery and revisional surgery.

Patrick obtained the UK’s highest qualification in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (the College), in 2010 and has been registered in the UK as a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon since 2011. He was awarded his Master of Science in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery degree (Distinction) by the University of London in 2013. This is an advanced qualification in aesthetic surgery, which very few international plastic surgeons have obtained.

Patrick is trained, qualified and experienced in all aspects of cosmetic plastic and revisional surgery and has an interest in:
• breast procedures including augmentation and fat transfer, total capsulectomy with implant removal (‘en-bloc’ where medically indicated), breast reduction and mastopexies (breast lift).
• facial rejuvenation, including facelift, neck lift, eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty), nasal surgery (rhinoplasty) and otoplasty.
• abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), liposuction, brachioplasty and thigh lift.

Patrick held the Office of President of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine from 2019-2022, having previously served as Vice-President, Censor in Chief and Councillor. He is committed to training, credentialing and recertification in cosmetic plastic surgery and has published internationally on these matters.

After obtaining his medical degree from the prestigious University of Cambridge, Patrick trained in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic (cosmetic) surgery in London and the surrounding area. His training units included some of the U.K.’s most well-recognised centres of plastic surgical excellence such as the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead. He went on to obtain post–fellowship experience in aesthetic plastic surgery at the McIndoe Surgical Centre, East Grinstead and oncoplastic microsurgical plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Royal Marsden
Hospital, London. Between late 2011 and 2015, he worked at a variety of plastic and reconstructive surgical units in major public hospitals in Melbourne. In 2015 he co-founded NorthEast Plastic Surgery with Dr Sugitha Seneviratne FRACS (Plast), Plastic Surgeon.

The College awarded him a prestigious Hunterian Professorship, for which he gave his oration in 2009. This was awarded in recognition of his clinical scientific research under the tutelage of Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, world renowned Cardiothoracic Surgeon. This is a rare award offered in honour of John Hunter,
recognised as the founder of scientific surgery.

Patrick is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and previously was also an Honorary Associate Surgeon in the Department of General Surgery.  In addition, between 2012 and 2014 he was a Senior Lecturer at the North West Academic Centre of the University of Melbourne.

To date, Patrick has contributed 50 publications, including peer-reviewed scientific articles, to the international literature and has given national and international presentations on more than 40 occasions to date. Patrick has the clinical experience of thousands of plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic procedures.

Mr Peter Taylor is a Melbourne trained Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in pelvic and acetabular trauma, complex hip reconstruction and revision joint replacement. 

Originally from Adelaide, Peter moved to Victoria in 2006 to begin his medical studies. After graduating from Monash University Medical School in 2010, Mr Taylor completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Surgical Anatomy at the University of Melbourne before spending his junior doctor years at the Royal Melbourne Hospital gaining experience in all areas of surgical practice and wide expose to significant Orthopaedic trauma and complex joint reconstruction. He was then accepted onto the Australian Orthopaedic Association Orthopaedic surgery training program in 2018. During his training he had exposure to some of Australia’s leading Orthopaedic units in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Following obtaining fellowship to both the Royal Australian College of Surgeons and Australian Orthopaedic Association in 2023 Mr Taylor started as a staff specialist in the Orthopaedic Department at The Austin Hospital. To deepen his expertise in complex pelvic and acetabular surgery, in 2024 Mr Taylor took up a fellowship at the prestigious Imperial College NHS Trust in London. There he worked within a high-volume major trauma centre, honing techniques in acetabular reconstruction, hip revision arthroplasty and all aspects of Orthopaedic trauma care. 

Mr Taylor is actively involved in clinical research and has presented nationally and internationally on topics including joint replacement following trauma, spinal instrumentation, and limb salvage techniques and advanced techniques in trauma surgery. He is passionate about teaching and has held academic appointments as an Honorary Research Fellow at Monash University.

He is currently a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Austin Health and practices privately in Heidelberg, Port Melbourne, Richmond and Epping.

Mr Duy Thai is a Melbourne-based orthopaedic surgeon. His services include many aspects of general orthopaedics, including joint replacements for chronic knee and shoulder osteoarthritis, sporting injuries and fractures.  My Thai has a particular interest in upper limb conditions, having completed an Upper Limb Fellowship with emphasis on arthroscopic treatment of; rotator cuff tears, subacromial impingement, bursitis, recurrent shoulder dislocations and frozen shoulders. 

Dr Thai provides a prompt, reliable and quality orthopaedic service for the community in Western and Northern suburbs of Melbourne. Workcover and TAC referrals are accepted. 

Dr. Jibin Thomas completed his Basic physician training at Eastern Health, where he established his interest in respiratory and sleep medicine. He completed his specialist training in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Western and Austin Health.

Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). He likes all facets of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine with interests in asthma and sleep disordered breathing. He sees patients with all kind of respiratory disorders including asthma, COPD, Bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis, ILD, lung nodules etc. Currently, Dr. Thomas works at the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Northern Hospital. He also runs a severe asthma and allergy clinic at the Northern Health. Dr. Thomas is actively involved in teaching undergraduate and Physician trainees at the Northern Health.

He has admitting rights and provides peri-operative care at Northern Private and Warringal Private Hospitals. 

He is a member of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ), Australian Sleep Association (ASA), American Thoracic Society (ATS) and European Respiratory Society (ERS).

Dr Richard To is an experienced Medical Oncologist committed to providing care at every stage of a patient’s care journey. He treats all types of solid organ cancer, with a particular focus on gastrointestinal and urogenital cancers. Richard is completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne, where his research focuses on the impact of emerging cancer technologies and treatments on healthcare systems. He also holds post-graduate research and educational roles at the University of Melbourne, teaching other professionals working within oncology. Throughout his clinical and research work, Richards is dedicated to prioitising patient preferences and improving their quality of life.

Mr Fidel Touma is an experienced General Surgeon with an interest in Laparoscopic surgery and Endoscopiy. Fidel is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and holds appointments as a consultant general surgeon at Northern Health, Epping. Mr Touma undertook the General Surgery Fellow position at Northern Health between 2016-2018, before being appointed as a Consultant General Surgeon with Northern Health.

He is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University where he completed medical training in 1993 and then completed his training in General & Laparoscopic Surgery in 1998. Mr Touma was the founder of laparoscopic general surgery in the province of Hama, Syria, and extensively contributed to the education and training of laparoscopic surgery for more than 15 years. He was Director of Surgery at Assuqaylabiyah Public Hospital in Syria in 2006 and held this position until he fled the country due to the Syrian Civil War, then he migrated to Australia with his family in 2014.

Throughout his tenure as a general surgeon, Mr Touma has always strived to gain new insights and techniques to advance his practice to the forefront of the surgical arena. Mr Touma practices gastroscopy and colonoscopy in addition to a wide range of general surgeries including gut surgery (Gastrointestinal) including weight loss surgery, hernias, breast and thyroid surgery as well as skin surgery and lumps and bumps. He has an interest in laparoscopic procedures and repairing complex hernias.

Mr Touma is fluent in Arabic and likes to work with people from different cultural backgrounds, promoting respect and inclusion of people from all walks of life.

Emily works publicly at the Northern Hospital in Epping. Her private consulting rooms are in Preston. She has admitting rights at Northern Private Hospital in Epping and Frances Perry Hospital in Parkville. For patients living in the appropriate catchment, she can provide direct booking to the public operating waiting lists of the Northern Hospital.

Emily’s drive to become an expert laparoscopic surgeon is reflected in her training journey.  

After graduating as an obstetrician and gynaecologist (FRANZCOG) in 2019, she undertook a fellowship from the Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy and Surgery Society (AGES). She spent two years in a tertiary hospital in New Zealand upskilling in complex, minimally invasive surgery, especially the care of severe endometriosis.

Emily carried out her basic training at The Royal Women’s Hospital in Parkville. Her senior registrar years were spent as the principal gynaecology registrar at RWH and pursuing extra rotations in Darwin, Sunshine and Epworth Freemasons. 

Emily was raised on the Mornington Peninsula and obtained a double degree in medicine and arts from the University of Melbourne in 2009.

Emily is known amongst her friends and family for loving a big task. She does event cooking, is an advanced seamstress and enjoys reupholstering furniture. She usually has a crossword tucked away somewhere and a podcast recommendation at the ready.

Dr Gautam Vaddadi is a cardiologist with expertise in a broad range of non-invasive cardiology. Dr Vaddadi’s interests include general cardiology, heart failure, syncope, postural hypotension, echocardiography and stress echocardiography.

He graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne in 1999 and was awarded a Bachelor of Medical Science for research at the Baker Heart Research Institute. He completed basic physician training at Austin Health in 2003 and undertook advanced training in cardiology, heart failure and transplantation at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne from 2004 to 2006.

Gautam progressed his post graduate studies investigating the mechanisms of syncope (low blood pressure and fainting) from 2006 to 2009. This work resulted in several high profile peer reviewed research publications in leading cardiovascular journals. Dr Vaddadi was awarded the Ralph Reader Prize by the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand in 2008 for his research investigating syncope.

Public Hospital appointments include The Alfred Hospital and Northern Hospital. As Head of Heart Failure Services at Northern Health, he has been instrumental in building heart failure services in the Northern region of Melbourne, and actively engaged in a project, funded by the Department of Health, to investigate heart failure services in primary care.

Qualifications
• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) (University of Melbourne)
• Bachelor of Medical Science (BMedSci) (University of Melbourne)
• Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians (FRACP- Cardiology) (Royal
Australian College of Physicians)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Monash University, BakerIDI Heart and
Diabetes Institute)
• Fellow of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (Cardiac Society of
Australia and New Zealand)

Professor William van Gaal is the Director of Cardiology at Northern Health. He is also the Executive Divisional Director of Emergency Services at Northern Health which incorporates the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and Cardiology Department.

He is a dual trained Interventional Cardiologist and Nuclear Physician. His main interest is treating chest pain and coronary artery disease (blockages of the heart arteries). He has recently served as the President of the Victorian Division of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Professor van Gaal graduated from the University of Melbourne (MBBS) in 1995. After achieving fellowship (FRACP) in nuclear medicine and cardiology, he moved to the United Kingdom in 2004 where he undertook a 4 year Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology (stenting blocked arteries) at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

During his time in Oxford he performed over 1000 interventional procedures including advanced techniques in complex coronary disease. He undertook his own randomised controlled trial examining the use of stents to replace the need for cardiac bypass surgery. During his time in Oxford Professor van Gaal completed a three year Masters in Evidence Based Medicine at the University of Oxford (MSc).

In late 2007 he returned to Australia to commence the Cardiology unit at Northern Health, where he commenced the interventional cardiology program - which now supports the northern community with 24/7 access to emergency cardiology procedures. Shortly after returning to Australia he completed his 3 year Doctor of Medicine (MD) at the University of Melbourne examining the mechanisms and prevention of heart injury during heart procedures. He subsequently gained Fellowship to the Australian Cardiac Society (FCSANZ) and subsequently the European Society of Cardiology for his efforts in research and leadership in the cardiology community (FESC).

Professor Van Gaal is very widely published in the international literature with over 100 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals on the topics of heart disease, interventional procedures and techniques, and the mechanisms and prevention of heart injury during heart surgery and heart procedures. He has been principal investigator on over 30 international trials including first-inhuman trials, and recruited the first patient worldwide into a trial of a novel liquid device to prevent heart failure following heart attacks which achieved international acclaim.

His research interests include minimally invasive heart procedures that can replace the need for cardiac bypass surgery, cholesterol lowering agents including intravenous therapy to raise HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol), novel blood thinners for patients with heart disease, as well as new treatments for people with diabetes and heart disease. Professor van Gaal was the Australian lead cardiologist for a study in patients with stents who need blood thinners and has presented these findings at a national and interventional level. He leads the quality unit for Emergency Services at Northern Health and has a keen interest in researching new models of care to minimise the risk of harm to patients admitted to hospital with heart disease.

Professor van Gaal has served on the Victorian Cardiac Clinical Network Leadership committee. He was secretary of the Victorian Cardiac Society for three years before serving as the President of the Victorian Cardiac Society between 2016 until 2018. He currently serves on the steering committee, clinical quality committee and publishing committee of the Victorian Cardiac Outcomes Registry. He chairs the New Technology committee and Northern Health, as well as the Quality committee and ethics committee.

Above all, Bill is known for the care and pride he takes in explaining to patients in simple terms the exact nature and cause of their condition, helping them understand the treatment options available, and offering new or innovative therapies that are available to treat their condition.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
• Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP)
• Masters of Evidence Based Medicine (MSc) 2009
• Doctor of Medicine (MD) 2010
• Fellow of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (FCSANZ)
• Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC)
• Cardiovascular research
• Nuclear Medicine and coronary perfusion (blood supply to the heart muscle)