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Brisbane Private Hospital has unveiled the future of Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery with two new operating theatres.

To understand how a pain management specialist – like those at Brisbane Private Hospital’s Pain Medicine Services – help people living with chronic pain, it’s helpful to know a bit more about how pain can be managed.

If you’ve been in pain a long time, you’re not alone. One in five Australians aged 45 or over (or 1.6 million people) live with chronic pain, according to figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. A pain specialist knows chronic pain can adversely impact your life in many ways. Aside from the frustration and discomfort, people with chronic pain are five times more likely as those without pain to experience significant limitations with everyday activities. 

Groin hernias (also known as inguinal hernias) occur more often on the right side than the left, and in situations where there is raised abdominal pressure, such as builders doing heavy lifting, or smokers who are prone to bouts of coughing. While they are more common in men, they also occur in women. People with congenital tissue (collagen) disorders such as Ehlers Danlos syndromes are also more prone to getting hernia’s when compared to the general population.

Australian-trained Ear, Nose and Throat, Head and Neck Surgeon Dr Ryan Sommerville explains why Quality of Life and Survivorship are essential considerations in every patient’s treatment.

Brisbane Private Hospital has just installed the first ROSA collaborative robot in theatre for total knee arthroplasty in the Brisbane CBD area, to assist surgeons with greater precision, workflow planning and adjusting soft tissue tension around the knee joint. Used by Dr Gauguin Gamboa and Dr Tyson Doneley, the ROSA Robotic system offers an accurate model of the knee through special pre-operative imaging to deliver precision planning, with further adjustments during surgery after measurement of soft tissue tension. The robot navigation also allows for detailed measurements and data collection.

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.

Professor David Paterson has more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and is Australia's most cited Infectious Diseases Physician. He is a member of the Medical Advisory Committee at Brisbane Private Hospital and shares an update on the implications of COVID-19 on clinical practice below.

If 20 years ago you told Jack (known to his friends as ‘Hollywood Jack’) that he would one day be in films and commercials, he would have scoffed. His reaction to you saying that he would also enjoy life without alcohol would have earned you huge disbelief and distrust, because he neither knew or trusted anyone who ‘didn’t drink’. But after 16 years of sobriety thanks to Damascus Health Services, Jack’s life is filled with colour and joy he never thought was possible. The weekly volunteer at the Damascus Day Patient unit credits the facility with saving his life.

Otolaryngology Head & Neck surgeon Dr Marty Hanson outlines the causes and impact of nasal obstruction and shares his fresh surgical approaches to deliver form and function to patients with nasal conditions, driven by his elite skill as one of Australia’s few surgeons to undertake formal fellowship training in Facial Plastic Surgery in the United States.

Chronic pain is complex and can debilitate patients when all of its causes remain elusive. Australian certified Pain medicine physician and Rehabilitation physician Dr Ben Manion from Axxon Pain explains how understanding neuroplasticity and using swift and appropriate multimodal treatment by pain management specialists can greatly assist in the management of ‘Chronic Pain Patients’.

For 30 years at Brisbane Private Hospital, Damascus Health Services has helped to transform the lives of people with alcohol and prescription drug addictions. This revolutionary facility has spearheaded treatments and programs in unique and highly recognised ways for marginalised patients, giving them a place of hope, care and change. Damascus belatedly celebrated its 30th anniversary this year as part of Brisbane Private Hospital, and its 41st anniversary since being created. The centre now looks forward to its continued growth and innovation thanks to its dedicated staff and successful programs. We share its ongoing impact, below.

Myth: I don’t need to be tested as I do not have a family history of bowel cancer or stomach problems. Most colorectal cancers are found in people without a family history of colorectal cancer. About 75 percent of all new cases of colorectal cancer occur in individuals with no known risk factors for the disease.

Liver Scan Brisbane at Brisbane Private Hospital provides a service of excellence for patients requiring Fibroscan®, with or without the need for Specialist Consultation. Complex technology backed by robust clinical data, allows a simple scan conducted by Specialist Nurse Nicola Rahman to provide a reliable method of estimating liver fibrosis. This may avoid invasive methods such a liver biopsy, allowing for prompt initiation of health interventions where necessary.

ENT Surgeon Dr Jo-Lyn McKenzie is a leading adult and paediatric Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon with special skills in advanced Head and Neck Cancer surgery. Dr McKenzie offers Brisbane Private Hospital her insight into recent developments in the management of Thyroid Cancer, and how she can assist patients to navigate complex treatment options.