This episode covers the topic of chest trauma, with the James Mckay, an incredible general surgeon, trauma surgeon, and dual trained intensive care physician. Topics covered include: - rib fractures - flail chest - blunt cardiac injury - chest drains - resuscitative thoracotomy And more!      Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information is not to be considered to include any recommendations...

This guest episode with colorectal surgeon Chris Wakeman focuses on the common familial cancer syndromes. For each we go through diagnosis, genetics, surveillance, management, decision making and more. Topics include: - Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) - Lynch Syndrome - Serrated Polyposis Syndrome - Oligopolyposis Here are some resources Dr Wakeman suggested might be helpful when covering this topic: Lynch syndrome - InSiGHT (insight-group.org)  Adenomatous polyposis syndromes - InSiGHT...

This episode is the first  part of a series that has been produced in collaboration with the Australian and New Zealand Training Board in Colon and Rectal Surgery (ANZTBCRS). It has come out of work prepared for the Colorectal Fellow's Training Weekend held in Adelaide in August 2023. Henry Drysdale won the Phillip Douglas Prize for his presentation on malignant colorectal polyps and is our guest for this episode. We cover: - definition - endoscopic features correlated with malignant polyps...

For this guest episode we are joined by Dr Simon Richards, as colorectal surgeon from Christchurch New Zealand. This episode is a masterclass in Total Neoadjuvant Therapy (TNT) for Rectal Cancer. We cover: - the traditional paradigm of rectal cancer management and how it's progressed to where we are now - what is TNT - what is 'watch and wait' and 'organ preservation' - the main three trials you need to know! - some cases and why you might consider different approaches for different...

On this guest episode we are joined by Dr Carla Gillespie, an UGI, bariatric and general surgeon from Sydney to cover the topic of bariatric surgery. We cover: - pathophysiology - types of operations - considerations when deciding what operation - complications - immediate and late - how to remove a lap band - and some general exam and career advice! Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This...

From the vault (courtesy of Tara who found it). This episode covers the topic of intestinal failure. It includes: - definition - classification - pathophysiology - prevention - the three phases - intestinal adaptation - management - complications (short and long term) Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information is not to be considered to include any recommendations or medical advice by the...

In this week's 'Christmas Special' episode I am joined by Ashwini Pondicherry and Jamie Crichton to reflect on our first year of fellowship. We discuss some of the good things about this transition, but also some of the more difficult and formative aspects and how we negotiated them. The step from registrar to fellow/consultant is a HUGE one and we hope that by talking about some of these topics it will make it slightly easier for you. We also discuss the application processes for ANZHPBA,...

Our first episode back (in a while - sorry!) is an incredible guest episode that is worth the wait. We talk through a series of breast cancer cases with Ashwini Pondicherry, the current breast fellow at Christchurch hospital, to cover a wide range of topics in breast cancer. This includes some updates from the original breast cancer episodes (which were published over 2 years ago now). This episode not only covers content, but is presented in long viva style taking you through a number of...

This guest episode covers the essentials you need to know when talking about operative surgery in inflammatory bowel disease. We are joined by colorectal and general surgeon Mr Michael Johnston who has significant experience in looking after these patients. We talk about: - ileocolic resections - what to do with crohn's fistulas to the sigmoid - stricturoplasty techniques - how to handle the crohn's mesentery - what join to do and why - when to operate on acute colitis - how to do a subtotal...

In this episode we go into some of the pathologies that can affect the salivary gland, as well as the different neck infections we need to know about. Topics covered include: Salivary Gland Pathology - Salivary gland calculi (sialolithiasis) - Infections / Inflammation including sialadenitis - Plunging ranulas Cervical Infections - Compartments of the neck - Different infections and neck abscesses As I mentioned in the first episode of this series I can highly recommend the Open Access...

On this guest episode, we talk to Anthony Payne, a financial and tax consultant with DPM Financial about some of the financial changes we will face transitioning from being a registrar to fellowship and consultancy. Some of the topics we cover include: - Transitioning from employee to sole trader, and the implications on this for Tax, Super, Insurances and Leave.  - What an ABN is and why you need it - GST as a sole trader and what you need to know -  The typical financial set-ups of private...

In this first episode from the Head and Neck module of our curriculum we touch on salivary gland pathology. Including: - Salivary gland anatomy - including the parotid and submandibular glands. As part of this we cover the important anatomical relations and the parasympathetic supply (highly examinable!) - Common tumours of the salivary glands and how to treat them - Some operative tips and how to describe how you would perform a superficial parotidectomy and submandibular gland extirpation -...

This week we are joined by the incredible urologist Dr Anita Clarke to talk about all things urology! We cover: - the benefits of multidisciplinary surgical approach - putting in a ureteric stent - the diagnosis and management of bladder cancer (for general surgeons) - management of intra-operative ureteric injuries - the difficult urinary catheter and inserting a suprapubic catheter As well as other life advice, insight into the life of a surgeon, and exam advice (from a previous chief...

Welcome to this guest episode with A/Prof Phil Carson. A/Prof Carson is a general surgeon from Darwin and the most recent ex-censor in chief of RACS. We are lucky enough to have him for this special episode to cover a range of topics filled with pearls and insights from his varied and interesting career. We cover: - some background into his life as a rural generalist in Darwin. - what to do to prepare for practice if you are considering a career as a rural general surgeon. - we gain some...

We are lucky enough this week to be joined by the incredible Kellee Slater - HPB and hernia surgeon from Queensland. In addition to being an incredible surgeon, researcher, published author and presenter, A/Prof Slater has been extremely generous and joined us to cover topics from the hepatobiliary and transplant modules. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it. Once again I'm overwhelmed by the time surgeons spend working with us to help us prepare for...

I'm back! After a nice break holidaying around Italy I bring you an introduction to the transplant module! Hopefully this covers enough background to get started with the module including transplant immunobiology, immunosuppressive medications, criteria for organ donation and complications of immunosuppression. Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information is not to be considered to include...

I know I promised you all a series on urology but I'm taking a break this week and releasing a bonus episode from the vault! This episode covers all the appendiceal pathologies from the 'emergency' module of the curriculum: - acute appendicitis - appendiceal tumours including adenocarcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma, mucinous neoplasms, goblet cell adenocarcinoma, and neuroendocrine tumours. - and we also touch on pseudomyxoma peritonei  I hope you enjoy this episode! Disclaimer The...

This episode continues our foray into the urology topics we need to know for our general surgical exams. We cover: - testicular tumours including the presentation, subtypes, workup, radical inguinal orchidectomy and management - Varicoceles - Hydroceles (including some operative points on Jaboulay and Lord's procedures) - and epididymal cysts Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information is...

From the abdominal wall, retroperitoneum and urogenital module from the curriculum I bring you the first in a series of podcasts covering urology! We have to know quite a few urology topics for our exam, but where better to start than by covering anatomy and embryology. In this episode we cover the clinically relevant anatomy of: - the kidneys - ureter - bladder - testes - vas deferens - seminal vesicles And some embryology of the kidneys and testes. Disclaimer The information in this...

This episode is number 3 in our series of pathophysiology quiz episodes. We cover pathophysiology topics from the following modules: - sepsis and critical care - nutrition - skin and soft tissue -  trauma - vascular, and - abdominal compartment syndrome Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information is not to be considered to include any recommendations or medical advice by the author or...

This episode is number 2 in our series of pathophysiology quiz episodes. We cover pathophysiology topics from the following modules: - Upper GI - Breast - Colorectal - Emergency - Head and Neck Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid for the purposes of the General Surgery Fellowship Exam. This information is not to be considered to include any recommendations or medical advice by the author or publisher or any other person. The listener should conduct and...

After the success of our Genetic Syndrome's Quiz episode, we bring you the first in a series of Pathophysiology quiz episodes! This episode is in a question and answer format - where I ask a question and give you time to think of the answer before giving it to you. We cover a variety of pathophysiology questions from the endocrine, small bowel, bariatric and hepatobiliary modules from the general surgery curriculum. Disclaimer The information in this podcast is intended as a revision aid...

After a short hiatus First Incision is back! This episode goes through the definitions of all the conditions which may affect our critically ill surgical patients. It also goes through the pathophysiology of these conditions. We finish off by talking a little bit about some of the medications that may be used by the ICU for these critically ill patients. In my exam pathophysiology VIVA they asked me what the definition and diagnostic criteria for sepsis were so this is definitely...

Hi everyone! We're trying something different this week with a new format for the podcast. This episode covers a range of genetic syndromes that we need to know for the exam. The format is a 'call and respond' or 'question-answer' type format where I ask a question and give you a chance to see if you know the answer before telling you myself! You might find this useful in the few months leading up to the exam to practice recalling answers, and to identify what you've forgotten and what has...