Southern Hand & Wrist

23/03/2022

Small yet significant steps towards gender equality in surgery. These talented Surgeons are great role models for both male and female trainees.

Did you know Concord Hospital has the highest ratio of female surgeons of any other tertiary hospital in NSW?
We celebrate each of these women for their brilliant contributions and achievements in the field of surgery.
We asked some of these surgeons what advice they would give to their younger self, and here’s what they had to say:
“You’ll only start to know your own potential when you start to chase your dreams. So, build your dreams of a world that’s more peaceful, healthy, kind and fair.” - Dr Sarah Aitken, Vascular.
“It will be hard work. Value your friends, colleagues, and supporters.” – Dr Gail Molland, Breast Endocrine.
“Believe that you definitely don’t need to be ‘one of the boys’ to have a career in surgery. It’s far better to stand out as your own unique, genuine self.” – Dr Ruth Collins, Urology.

05/02/2022

One of many questions being asked now is how soon is too soon to have an anaesthetic after Covid? With almost 2 million Australians now having had Covid, it is no longer a small percentage of our population. This means that the “normal” health problems we treat will still need treatment despite patients being Covid positive, or recovered from Covid.

The current evidence is based on studies of patients who have had the Delta strain and we are starting to see more evidence being collected around the Omicron strain as well. Major, elective surgery 0-4 weeks after Covid infection is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications. Surgery performed 4-8 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection is still associated with an increased risk of pneumonia while surgery eight weeks after Covid-19 diagnosis is not associated with increased complications. (1)

For patients who have recovered from Covid, and are waiting for surgery, it is important to have this discussion with your surgeon so they are informed. They will also include their Anaesthetist as it is often a combined decision whether it is safe to proceed at the planned time.

If you want further information, please click contact Dr. Sungaran or his team via the link below.

1 . Annals of Surgery November 2021: The Risk of Postoperative Complications following Major Elective Surgery in Active or Resolved COVID-19 in the United States

At Southern Hand and Wrist surgery practice in Sutherland Shire, NSW, we focus on restoring function and relieving pain for our patients.

22/08/2021

I am not an expert in Public Health, Infectious disease or health policy. I am just a parent of children less than 10 and it scares me to think how vulnerable our children are right now. While we all want things to open up and live freely, how do we prevent our children contracting COVID if we end up at over 1000 cases a day despite a high vaccination rate? Like the US, it will be a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”…

As cases among children and young people escalate, one mayor is scratching his head as to why his LGA is an area of concern.

18/08/2021

Due to the worsening case numbers, NSW Health has requested all non-urgent elective surgery in the private sector be put on hold starting Monday 23rd August. This is in conjunction with public hospitals ceasing elective surgery 4 weeks ago.

This means that only Category 1 patients such as fractures or other emergency operations can still continue. All other elective operations will now have to be deferred, with no end date set at this stage.

The reason for this move is to free up general ward beds as well as ICU beds for the growing number of hospitalisations, and also to allow more medical and nursing staff to assist with the public health response.

If you have surgery booked with Dr. Sungaran after 23rd August, our staff will be in touch to inform you if your operation can proceed. In the meantime, please stay home and stay safe. Book your vaccination with your GP if you have not done so already, and let’s all get through this together.

24/07/2021

Thank you to my colleagues at Canterbury Hospital who are working round the clock to help get us through this current outbreak. A reminder that we should all stay home and stay safe.

Our COVID-19 testing clinic at Canterbury Hospital is now open 24 hours a day for a limited time to meet the demands of this latest outbreak.
The new hours start tonight so if you have any symptoms please drop by and get yourself tested.
You can find the clinic at 575 Canterbury Rd, Campsie.
A huge shout out to our amazing staff for making this happen and working through these cold nights for our community.

28/10/2020

As Surgeons, sometimes we take for granted how stressful the surgical experience is for a patient. Because we do this every day, there is a certain level of detachment necessary for us to judge and make decisions without being clouded by emotion. However we are human and our humanity makes us better Surgeons.

Receiving such thoughtful gifts in appreciation for our service reminds us of that human side of our profession. We are in such a privileged position to make a difference to people’s lives. Something that still touches me every day and is why I love what I do.

29/09/2020

Amazing how we still rely on “ancient” remedies despite all our advances in modern medicine. Great work by the team at Sydney Hospital. Kay Maddison and Prof. Deva you guys are awesome!

Starved of blood for a month, the wee dears are sold to hospitals across Australia needing the limb-saving bloodsuckers.

13/07/2020

Peer review meetings such as these, form part of our continuing professional development and is audited yearly by the Australian Orthopaedic Association to ensure we remain current with our knowledge and practice.

For more information please visit

Teleconferencing allows us with continuing peer review of every case and education, while maintaining physical distancing.

11/05/2020

Patrizia Cassaniti is a pillar of strength and commitment to this sad but important event, having lost her son Christopher in a workplace accident. Please tune in to listen to her story and her drive to change workplace law.

28/04/2020

Elective surgery has restarted this week, however the Government has mandated a reduced capacity by 50% until we know what happens with PPE stocks. Therefore this will mean only half the number of patients can be booked on due to a strict reduction in session times.

For anyone awaiting surgery at a public hospital with Dr. Sungaran (Concord or Canterbury Hospitals), the admissions office will continue to prioritise based on clinical urgency and they will contact you directly with as much notice as possible for a date of surgery. At this stage we have not been given a start date for resuming elective operating.

For patients booked at a private hospital (Kareena or Strathfield Private), our office will be in touch shortly to confirm what dates we can offer based on availability at these Hospitals.

Until then, please stay home and stay safe. Look after yourself and your family.

29/03/2020

They are an integral part of our Hospital team and deserve more recognition. Without their hard work and dedication, our Hospitals would not function. Thank you guys!

13/03/2020

Uncertain times for all of us, so we will try and keep you up to date as soon as NSW Health notifies us of any changes.

Will I get Coronavirus if I go to hospital? Will my surgery be cancelled due to COVID-19? These are valid questions for those with planned operations.