Dr Ajay Chauhan Increases Specialist Plastic Surgery Expertise at BPH

InFocus Issue 22, January 2022

Australian-trained Specialist Plastic Surgeon Dr Ajay Chauhan is dedicated to excellence in Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. He has just joined Brisbane Private Hospital.

Specialist Plastic Surgeon Dr Ajay Chauhan recently made Brisbane his home after a circuitous route that saw his early-2020 plans to move with his family from Melbourne to India totally altered by the worldwide pandemic.

Luckily for Brisbane Private Hospital he has now chosen to bring his specialist skills in plastic and reconstructive surgery, with a particular interest in melanoma and skin cancers, north to Brisbane, to help patients in one of the world’s skin cancer and melanoma hotspots.   

Dr Chauhan completed his formal training in Brisbane, obtaining his FRACS in 2012. He then worked as a consultant plastic surgeon in Melbourne at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Monash Health, and undertook post fellowship training in France, Germany, India and the USA.  

Passionate about reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery, especially for patients following cancer treatment, Dr Chauhan works extensively with other specialists to help solve problems in many different fields.

He has worked on some novel solutions and research in the area of urethral reconstruction and restoration for patients who have undergone radiation treatment for prostate cancer, but is just as determined to help any patients whose lives are impacted by physical deformities.

“Over the last 10 years I have observed an increased expectation that people don’t have to suffer with a deformity. For example, breast reconstruction is now an expected part of breast cancer treatment and I am keen to expand that thinking into other areas of the body that aren’t always considered, such as those areas that suffer from the effects of radiation.

“As plastic surgeons we do a lot of problem solving. As a creative and lateral thinker who has an aesthetic eye, I see the work I do almost as an extension of the arts in the way that I treat each patient and their issue individually and uniquely.

“I also enjoy being very approachable with my patients, as it’s nice to offer them positive steps to help them get their lives back, to feel restored and to interact in society without feeling conscious about their appearance. 

“It is incredibly fulfilling to restore a patient’s quality of life after a traumatic process and treatment and it is very rewarding to offer them hope of recovering form and function as part of my role.”

Dr Chauhan said the increased amount of general awareness, information and normalisation about plastic and reconstructive surgery was valuable to help people realise what can be done to help them.

“Every day I am driven by the next patient with whom I will have a positive interaction and impact by being able to be of benefit in their life, from removing a skin cancer to complex procedures.

“I can only do that for one person at a time, but that makes it worth doing.”