Serving our community
It was a great honour to be elected President in 2020, and to mark the 10th anniversary of the Society’s inception. I am committed to the ongoing evolution of the Society and am confident the 2021 – 2023 strategic plan will continue to strengthen our vision of reducing the impact of breast disease in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand by setting and advancing standards in breast surgery through training and education, research, audit, and the development of evidence-based practice.
As the peak body representing breast surgeons in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand our goal is to ensure all breast cancer surgeons in both countries are members of our Society.
The BreastSurgANZ training and audit process for Breast Surgeons is designed to ensure members of our Society practice breast surgery to the highest standards and participate in detailed quality assurance. Our programs facilitate continuing medical and professional education in our sub-specialty.
Participation in the BreastSurgANZ audit is a requirement of Full and Associate membership and provides the crucial service of quality assuring members, to reassure the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand public that a BreastSurgANZ surgeon is adhering to best practice guidelines in the treatment of early breast cancer. Full members are listed on our Find a Surgeon page.
We continue to maintain strong links with partner organisations and consumer groups. The Society provides representation to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR), Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA), and the Department of Health among others.
The Post Fellowship Training (PFT) program is a two-year bi-national program undertaken after general surgical training (FRACS). The Society firmly believes that sub-specialty training in breast surgery is required to provide best care to patients.
We welcome opportunities to collaborate with industry and other international Societies whose members are actively involved in the treatment of breast disease.
Should you have any questions in relation to engaging with our Society or if you are interested in Membership, please contact us.
Melanie Walker, President
BreastSurgANZ is a not-for-profit Incorporated Association and a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC).
The affairs of the Society are directed by a Council of eight Members including three Executive members consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer (Executive Committee), four non-Executive elected Members, and a co-opted New Zealand member (where a New Zealand member has not been elected to Council).
Council have oversight of the organisation’s vision, mission and strategic planning and performance. Councillors are also invited to represent the Society on a number of external stakeholder committees.
The Chief Executive Officer is a member of the Executive Committee and is responsible for directing and managing the business activities of the Society.
The work of the Society is supported by a number of Committees established to assist the Society achieve its strategic and operational objectives.
Melanie Walker is a specialist breast surgeon in Melbourne, in private practice and holds public appointments at Alfred Health, where she is Clinical Lead, and Monash Health, and BreastScreen Victoria. Melanie is a founding Council member of BreastSurgANZ.
After obtaining her FRACS in 2002, Melanie then undertook a further three years training in breast surgery in the UK, training at the Edinburgh Breast Unit and undertaking an Oncoplastic Fellowship year at the Canniesburn Plastic Surgery Unit, Glasgow, where she developed her special interest in oncoplastic breast surgery and breast ultrasound.
Melanie is committed to ensuring standards in the training and credentialling of breast surgeons.
Caroline obtained her MBBS from Melbourne University in 1985 and her FRACS in 1994. She then spent 5 years in The UK where she was one of the early advocates of sentinel node biopsy, learnt the art of multidisciplinary care and the value of the breast care nurse.
Following 18 years as member then Director of Breast Services at Austin Health, Caroline is now Head of Breast Surgery at St Vincent’s Public Hospital and Chief Surgeon to St Vincent’s Breast Screen. She is also a director of Victorian Breast and Oncology Care, a foundation member of BreastSurgANZ and an active member of the Australasian Society of Breast Diseases and Breast Cancer Trials.
Caroline teaches medical students, junior doctors, lymphoedema practitioners, BCNA nurses and volunteers. She brings experience, maturity and passion to the delivery of breast cancer care to ensure that the standards within our subspecialist field are of the highest quality, consistency and validity.
Dr Whitfield graduated from Monash University in 1998 obtaining his FRACS from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) in 2009. He completed several years of post-Fellowship training in Adelaide in breast surgery, endocrine surgery and surgical oncology before undertaking an Oncoplastic Fellowship in Edinburgh in 2011. He is a senior staff specialist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and has been in private practice since 2015.
Dr Whitfield is the current Chair of the Australian Board in General Surgery, and also chairs the RACS CCrISP Committee. He is a passionate Melbourne Demons supporter and occasionally runs marathons.
A/Prof French is the Head of Breast Surgery at the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute where he is a dedicated teacher of post graduate fellows and surgical trainees. He chairs 2 MDT meetings, M&M and Oncoplastic meetings. A/Prof French also runs a private practice based from Lakeview Private Hospital where he chairs the private MDT meeting. He is involved in clinical research projects and is frequently invited to present at scientific meetings and surgical workshops.
Dr Green is a Breast and Endocrine surgeon who obtained his medical degree in Tasmania before undergoing post fellowship training in Breast and Endocrine Surgery in 2011 at the Mater Hospital Sydney and then as the Ramsay Health Breast and Endocrine Fellow at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and North West Private Hospital. Ben’s primary focus is to provide tertiary level breast care with an Oncoplastic focus.
He has been heavily involved in teaching and training of SET trainees including preparation for fellowship examinations where he had awarded the GSA Teaching award in 2015. Ben is also Co-Chair of the Post-Fellowship Training Committee and a member of the Membership Committee. He has recently worked with the BreastSurgANZ team to review Post-Fellowship training guidelines and is involved in the BreastSurgANZ Oncoplastic workshops. He is a member of the Queensland Cancer Control Analysis Team (QCCAT) overviewing Breast cancer treatment in Queensland.
Dr Kylie Snook is a specialist Oncoplastic Breast surgeon in consultant practice exclusively treating patients with breast disease in both the private and public sector through the Mater Hospital, North Shore Private Hospital and Hornsby Ku-ring-gai hospital in NSW. She is Head of Department for Breast & Endocrine Surgery, is on the Medical Advisory Committee and a Mater Doctors’ association board member at Mater Hospital.
Kylie is a founding Member of BreastSurgANZ, a Visiting Medical Officer at BreastScreen and a clinical senior lecturer at the University of Sydney (UoS) Northern Clinical School. She has also contributed teaching resources for the Graduate Certificate in Breast Surgery offered through UoS and is involved in formal surgery mentor programs through UoS Surgical Society, Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. She is a member of the current Expert working group responsible for the new Early Breast Cancer Guidelines for Cancer Australia and is a member of Breast Cancer Trials embedding research into her surgical practice through recruitment of patients for local and international trials.
Kylie undertook her general surgery training at RNSH and the Northern Sydney Area Health service obtaining her FRACS in 2006. She spent two years in Guildford, UK as the clinical research fellow in oncoplastic breast surgery, gaining post fellowship expertise in reconstructive techniques, oncoplastic approaches to breast surgery and research experience particularly in sentinel node biopsy.
A/Prof Warrier is a Consultant Breast Surgeon at the Chris Obrien Lifehouse and designted chief surgeon for Sydney Local Health District BreastScreen. He is passionate about patient care, teaching and research. Sanjay undertook extensive post-fellowship training in breast surgery consolidating surgical techniques in both an oncological and reconstructive setting.
He is an Associate Professor of Sydney University and breast research lead with the Royal Prince Alfred Academic Institute. Sanjay is the co-founder of the Masters in Breast Surgery run through Sydney university. Sanjay has presented his research at multiple national and international conferences including San Antonio Breast Symposium and ASCO. He won the Patron’s Prize at RPAH for the best scientific oral presentation on his work on Hedgehog signalling.
Sanjay is the immediate Past President of BreastSurgANZ, co-Chair of Post Fellowship Training, long-standing member of both the BreastSurgANZ Membership and Oncoplastic Committees and sits on advisory committees with the ministry of health NSW and the Cancer Institute. He also sits on Sydney Breast Cancer Foundation committee.
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