Tertiary plastic & reconstructive surgery for the upper North Island.
Based at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton, we are the tertiary referral centre for Te Manawa Taki (Midland) — covering Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Lakes, Tairāwhiti, and Taranaki. Approximately 940,000 people. The only Level 1 Trauma Centre in New Zealand RACS-verified at that grade, and one of four public plastic surgery hubs in the country.
Currently 21 medical staff against an establishment of 23.
Six consultants posted against an establishment of eight. We are actively recruiting fellows and locum SMOs. We do not currently advertise permanent posts directly to the international market — recent permanent appointments have come from candidates the unit already knows through fellowship or locum work, where both sides have had time to confirm fit.
Trainee-to-consultant ratio of 2.5 : 1 — one of the strongest training-pipeline ratios among NZ plastic surgery centres.
| Role | Estab. | Currently |
|---|---|---|
| Consultants (SMO) | 8 | 6 |
| Senior registrars incl. microsurgery & hand fellow posts | 3 | 3 |
| Service registrars | 9 | 9 |
| House officers | 3 | 3 |
| Total medical staff | 23 | 21 |
The rhythm of the week.
A daily elective list, a daily trauma list, weekend trauma lists, two skin shops on most days, and outreach in three regions.
| Activity | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Elective theatre list MCC21 | Daily |
| Trauma theatre list MCC24 | Daily |
| Weekend trauma list | Saturday & Sunday |
| Skin shops (minor procedure rooms) | Two, most days |
| Outpatient clinics | Daily — Recs A & B |
| Outreach — Gisborne, Taranaki, Thames | Monthly |
| Melanoma & High-Risk Skin Cancer MDT | Weekly · 5 districts |
| Hand trauma + orthoplastic MDT | In development |
A broader case mix than any single European tertiary centre offers a junior consultant.
Microvascular reconstruction
Broad case mix across head and neck cancer, autologous breast reconstruction, lower limb trauma, melanoma, and sarcoma. The unit performs the full perforator-flap toolkit routinely: anterolateral thigh in subfascial, suprafascial, and thinned variants; gracilis; medial femoral condyle; radial and ulnar forearm; medial sural artery perforator (MSAP); latissimus dorsi; DIEP; and others as the defect dictates. Fellows finish the year having operated across the full reconstructive toolkit, not on one or two flaps repeatedly.
Hand & upper limb
Acute trauma, elective hand surgery, peripheral nerve, brachial plexus, replantation. Regional referral centre for complex hand cases.
Skin cancer & melanoma
Chair-led regional MDT covering five districts. The country's highest melanoma incidence sits in our catchment. Wide local excision, sentinel node biopsy, and the full spectrum of complex reconstruction.
Cleft & craniofacial
Regular cleft lists led by Mr Jun Kwon. Opportunistic fellow exposure rather than a dedicated cleft fellowship.
Burns
Designated regional burns service. National Burns Service remains at Middlemore.
Volume does not currently support a dedicated burns fellow position.
Orthoplastics
DevelopingFormal pathway in development with the orthopaedic department; concurrent management of open fractures and complex lower-limb reconstruction already routine.
General trauma reconstruction
Level 1 trauma centre with high-volume soft-tissue and composite-tissue injury workload.
Breast reconstruction
Autologous and implant-based reconstruction post-mastectomy.
The unit does not provide aesthetic breast surgery or breast reduction — reconstruction only.
Outreach
Monthly clinics in Gisborne, Taranaki and Thames — by flight or drive.
Equipment that meets the volume.
Dedicated plastic surgery theatres with microscope-equipped sessions in MCC21 and MCC24. Modern imaging — CTA and MR angiography routinely accessible for free-flap planning. Outpatient hand therapy and an active wound-care team.
The unit was the first in New Zealand to use Kerecis fish-skin graft and DermaClose continuous external tissue expansion in plastic surgery.
Publish, teach, build a name.
Active links with the University of Auckland and the University of Waikato. Consultants hold academic appointments. Active research programmes in melanoma outcomes, AI-assisted clinical documentation, and hand trauma. Registrars and fellows are encouraged to publish; senior-author support and protected research time are available.