General Surgeon & Endoscopist
MBBS(Hons)Melb, MRCS(England), FRACS

[ Click here to view detailed CV ]

[ Click here to read a written profile on him  ]

Current Appointments & Professional Memberships

• Consultant General Surgeon - John Fawkner Private Hospital, Mitcham Private Hospital, Western Private Hospital,  Brunswick Private Hospital, Echuca Regional Health 
• Endoscopist - Western Gastroenterology, (Coburg Endoscopy, Sunshine Private )
• Lecturer/Honorary Fellow in Surgery - University of Melbourne
  [ View from Univeristy of Melbourne's Medical Faculty Website ]
• Fellow - Royal Australasian College of Surgeons(RACS)
• Member - Royal College of Surgeons(England)
• Foundation Member - Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand(BreastSurgANZ) 
• Gastroenterological Society of Australia(GESA) - Conjoint Committee Recognition of Training in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy(Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy)  
• Member - Academy of Surgical Educators 

Education and Awards

• MBBS(Hons 1st) University of Melbourne 1997 - top medical student, 23 awards and prizes, full scholarship
  • Australian Medical Association Prize - Top medical student
  • Rowden White Faculty Prize - Top medical student
  • The Novartis Prize - Top medical student
  • Dean's Honours List (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997)
  • The Robert Andrew Stirling Prize in Clinical Surgery (1997)
  • Exhibition Prize in Anatomy (1993)
  • T. F. Ryan Prize in Anatomy (1993)
  • Dwight’s Prize in Anatomy (1993)
  • Matthew W. McKenzie Award in Anatomy (1992)
  • Hedley F. Summons Prize in Otolaryngology (1997)
  • Leonard Mitchell Prize in Ophthalmology (1997)
  • The Roger Melick Prize in Clinical Medicine (1997)
  • Sir Alfred Edward Rowden White Prize in Obstetrics (1997)
  • Robert Gartly Heatly Prize in Obstetrics (1997)
  • Edgar & Mable Coles Prize in Obstetrics (1997)
  • Ian Johnston Prize in Reproductive Medicine (1996)
  • Herman Lawrence Prize in Clinical Dermatology (1995)
  • Edgar Rouse Prize in Occupational Medicine (1995)
  • Sunderland Prize in Neuroscience (1993)
  • The Australian College for Emergency Medicine Victoria Region Prize (1992)
• MRCS(England) 2000
• FRACS(General Surgery) 2005

Surgical Experience

Registrar - RMH, St Vincent’s, Alfred, Northern, Geelong, Ballarat
Overseas experience - 2 years in England(University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust)
Consultant experience - Ballarat, Melbourne(Footscray, Coburg, Mitcham ,Waverley, Eastern Health, Melbourne Hernia Clinic), Seymour, Echuca; locum - Broken Hill, Batemans Bay & Moruya, Werribee Mercy

Logbook totals (25 000+ cases) - 3000+ hernia repairs, 1000+ laparoscopic cholecystectomies, 10000+ endoscopies & banding of haemorrhoids, 200+ thyroidectomies, 1000+ colorectal/perianal(haemorrhoid) cases, 500+ breast cases, 100+ sentinel lymph node biopsies, 8000+ minor plastic surgery(skin cancers/lesions/cysts/lipomas), 600+ pilonidal sinus surgery

In his early career as a consultant, Dr Cheah was one of the busiest surgeon working in public hospitals in Victoria by case numbers- Doing lots of short stay surgery(hernia repair, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, minor plastic surgery, hand surgery, vasectomy etc) and endoscopy(gastroscopy & colonoscopy). 

For the 2 years to Feb 2015), for the cases done in theatres in a private hospital, Dr Cheah has performed:

• 828 Colonoscopies (this does not included scopes done on public patients in public hospitals)
• 428 Gastroscopies
• 430 Banding of haemorrhoids(in a lot of these cases these has avoided the more painful haemorrhoidectomy; a lot of the patients too have had recent colonoscopy at endoscopy centres elsewhere but were still getting rectal bleeding)
• 282 Hernia repairs - inguinal, Ventralex mesh repair, paraumbilical, recurrent, incisional
• 73 Pilonidal sinus excisions (this does not do the mini-excisions he does Carewise Minor Plastic Surgery clinics and in public hospitals)
• 304 Excision of lipomas and other soft tissue tumours
• 958 Minor Plastic Surgery for skin lesions and cysts (including 258 cases of Basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas and melanomas
• 92 Carpal tunnel releases
• 44 Scalpel-free Vasectomies(again not including the ones done in Minor theatre lists under LA)
• 58 Laparoscopic cholecystectomies(none coverted to open)

(Note : These numbers do not include public patients done in his 9 public theatre lists month in Echuca (where they are also operated mainly by him as the primary surgeon) nor cases performed under LA at Carewise Minor Plastic Surgery centres or The Clinic Footscray)

Selected Presentations and Publications

"The Single-visit Colorectal Cancer Follow-Up Clinic", "Day Case Abscess Service", "Work-Life Balance in Surgical Training", "Zone I Neck Injuries", "Emergency Abdominal Decompression in Abdominal Compartment Syndrome", "Surgical Training in Private Hospitals", "Improving Communication among doctors - Electronic Handovers","Reducing Wastage in Operating Theatres", "The Surgeon Who Commutes"

Patient Information - Consulting Rooms location

• MELBOURNE CITY/INNER CITY/WEST/NORTH - Footscray, Coburg, Sunbury
• EAST/SOUTHEAST MELBOURNE - Mitcham
• REGIONAL VICTORIA - Echuca

Appointments need to be made in rooms where you want to be seen

Surgeon's Fees

• Payment required on day of consult - EFTPos accepted
• Initial consult/first Face to Face consult -  mode & median $200(Medicare rebate $81.30 for 104)  - please ring rooms being seen directly
• Review consult - $130(Medicare rebate $40.85)
• Workcover/TAC - payment on the day of initial consult required
• Bulk-billing - for all DVA Gold card holders; Telehealth consults between 8-10pm(referrals need to be faxed to 90699480; short 5-6 min consults only)
• Privately insured patients treated in a private hospital as an inpatient - Private insurance company billed directly under Medibank/AHM Gapcover/BUPA Ezyclaim/Access Gap Cover(eg Defence Health, Australian Unity, Teachers, Police) /HCF Medicover/NIB Medigap/Workcover/TAC(no out of pocket fee on the day of surgery)
• Additional fees  - all patients are welcome to come back for another consultation in person to book in for surgery after reading the information sheet. But for those who prefer to avoid the hassle and want to communicating directly with Dr Cheah by phone or email, there may be an additional fee (this fee includes emails, phone calls to clarify further details about the operation & postop care and other administrative matters performed by Dr Cheah himself) (If communicating by phone, please SMS for a bulk billed phone consult - Dr Cheah will ring you back when he can)
• Uninsured patients being treated as private patients in a private hospital - this will have more out of pocket fees; usually around $400 to $800 depending on the surgery, risks & technical difficulty

The anaesthetists that work with Dr Cheah regularly do not charge a huge out of pocket costs - most cases have $0(mod)-250gap (please ring the anaesthetists' rooms directly for more information. 

Dr Cheah tries to minimize the out of pocket costs for his patients while still providing a high standard of surgery by minimizing paperwork, doing the bookings directly on the day of consultation where possible and not using expensively decorated / personal rooms 

WAITING TIMES FOR SURGERY

Melbourne - Private patients can usually book in directly on day of consult

Regional Victoria - generally the waiting lists there is much shorter than in the public hospitals in Melbourne(2-8 weeks wait in Echuca depending on type of surgery). Some patients from Melbourne can be operated on in the country provided they are not over the weight limit and of reasonable health and have connections to Echuca.

Direct access endoscopy also available - please enquire at rooms. Patients' GP need to fax referral.

Minor procedures performed in rooms with minor operating theatre(need to be pre-booked) - The Clinic Footscray(6-9 excision cases per session)

[ Click here to download my Referral Form ]