About Dr Simon Lau
MBBS, BMedSci, MSc, FRACS, FAOrthA
Orthopaedic Surgeon | Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist and Trauma
Simon was born and raised in Melbourne, although both his parents were migrants from Hong Kong who moved to Australia in the 1980s. From early on, he has always tried to maintain a broad perspective – both in medicine and in life more generally. Over the years, he has worked in primary health clinics in rural India, and engaged in population health research in Vietnam. Since then, his choice to pursue surgery, and particularly of the upper limb, has been driven by its ability to impact patients in meaningful ways. Restoring a person’s arm function with an operation can return their lives to them – and this can be immensely gratifying for both the patient and to Simon.
Training:
Simon grew up in Melbourne, and studied Medicine through the University of Melbourne. After graduating, he worked as a junior doctor at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he particularly focused on treating critically ill trauma patients who would arrive from across Victoria. This culminated in the completion of a Masters of Trauma Sciences with Honours through the University of London. From there, he was accepted onto the Australian Orthopaedic Association’s Victorian Training Program, and subsequently spent the next five years rotating through metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria as a training orthopaedic registrar. This training included general orthopaedics of both the upper and lower limbs in adults and children, and was completed when he was awarded a fellowship in Orthopaedic Surgery from the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.
Patient Perspectives:
Simon’s aim is to understand who every one of his patients are and how the injury to their arm impacts their life. He applies his own knowledge of Orthopaedics and the latest in surgical (or non surgical) treatment options to each patient’s circumstances. This allows him to develop individual, patient specific treatment plans. He strongly believes that this approach is just as important as operative skill or diligent post operative rehabilitation, and allows him to achieve the best he can for each person he treats.
Fellowship:
After completing his general orthopaedic training, Simon wanted to gain further experience in the cutting edge of surgery to the upper limb. To that end, he worked in Geelong under Professor Richard Page as an Upper Limb Fellow, learning about complex injuries to the shoulder, elbow and wrist. This fellowship also included an academic research position. Afterwards, he travelled overseas and undertook a fellowship under Professors Christian Gerber and Karl Wieser at the Universitätsklinik Balgrist in Zurich, Switzerland – a centre that has been at the forefront of shoulder surgery for the past 30 years. In addition to this, he also undertook a visiting fellowship with Professor Pascal Boileau in Nice, France – one of the pioneers of shoulder arthroplasty and instability surgery.
Teaching & Research:
Simon currently maintain a public practice at Peninsula Health. A major part of this work is teaching the junior doctors, many of whom are training to be orthopaedic surgeons of the future. In addition, he has previously published multiple peer reviewed journal articles including on various traumatic and upper limb related topics. He has acted as an invited review for a number of academic journal articles as well, and remains involved in the Research Unit at Peninsula Health.
Personally:
Outside the operating theatre, Simon is a dedicated husband and father to three young kids. In the past, he was a keen sportsman, and competed at a number of state and national championships in swimming. Where time permits, he still enjoys going for a swim, playing tennis or going for a run – whether that be recreationally or after one of the kids.
Qualifications & Training
Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (Orthopaedics)
Fellow of the Australian Orthopaedic Association
Master of Trauma Sciences (Military and Austere) with Honours – University of London, Queen Mary College
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery – University of Melbourne
Bachelor of Biomedical Science – University of Melbourne
Postgraduate Diploma of Surgical Anatomy – University of Melbourne
Fellowships:
Upper Limb Fellow with Professor Richard Page – Geelong, Victoria
Shoulder and Elbow Fellow with Professors Christian Gerber and Karl Wieser - Universitätsklinik Balgrist, Zurich, Switerland
Visiting Shoulder Fellow with Professor Markus Scheibel – Schulthess Klinik, Zurich, Switzerland
Visiting Shoulder Fellow with Professor Pascal Boileau – Institut de Chirurgie Réparatrice Locomoteur et Sports, Nice, France
Visiting Upper Limb Trauma Fellow with Mr Livio di Mascio – The Royal London Hospital, London, UK
