Dr Joseph Dusseldorp

Dr Joe Dusseldorp is a reconstructive plastic surgeon. He completed his specialist training through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and graduated with honours from University of Sydney Medical School. Joe enjoys managing a wide range of plastic surgical conditions and believes strongly in collaborative engagement with patients and their families to deliver care that is personal, taking into consideration all aspects of care, not only physical.

His goal is for patients to live a full and rewarding life without the distressing effects of a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Joe’s main interest areas are breast reconstruction, skin cancer surgery, and reconstructive procedures that are designed to restore to a patient the normality of a full life. Joe also offers a range of innovative treatments for breast reconstruction (including the DIEP flap), facial palsy, ear deformities, diabetic feet and peripheral nerve disorders such as migraine, and nerve entrapment. For many of these techniques, this is the first time they have been offered in Australia, representing a wonderful opportunity for patients to now seek treatment at home and not have to travel overseas to seek care. His commitment to providing his patients with options that are not just up-to-date, but are at the leading edge of surgical practice, is reinforced by strong collaborations with innovators in all of these fields, locally and internationally.

Joe has a strong research focus having completed his masters at the University of Sydney and now works with other scientists and clinicians through his role as a clinical senior lecturer. His research is focused on solving some of the difficult problems in plastic surgery, particularly: 3D printing of personalised implants, tissue engineering and artificial intelligence applications to surgery. He believes the key to advances in surgical management of disease will come from the integration of emerging technologies with modern medical practice. He has published a number of papers on the integration of biotechnology advances to improve reconstructive surgical outcomes, particularly the use of pre-op arterial mapping to ensure complete healthy survival of reconstructed breast tissue in breast reconstruction.

Joe co-founded the Sydney Neurobionics Collaboration (SyNC) with the goal of leveraging rapid technological advances to improve outcomes in neuromotor disorders. SyNC was launched in 2018 with an international symposium attracting clinicians and biomedical engineers. He is in development of a novel biomedical device that utilises the best emerging technologies and advances in nerve surgery to improve outcomes in those affected by facial palsy and cerebral palsy.

Joe has undertaken two years of international fellowship training in innovative centres including Mass Eye and Ear, Mass General Hospital, and Harvard University, Boston, USA in order to learn both medical and surgical aspects of treating patients with facial nerve disorders, skin cancers and facial deformities including congenital and post-traumatic conditions.

He also spent a year in Paris, France, learning the complete management of ear deformities, both congenital and acquired and has co-authored a definitive text on the subject entitled “Auricular Reconstruction”. He is working with leading edge advancements in ear surgery including 3-D printing of custom ear implants. He also has an interest in nerve decompression to improve sensation in diabetic feet, an area that has received little attention in Australia until now.

Joe also enjoys training specialists in developing nations and undertakes mission trips annually to Haiti, Ecuador, Honduras and Vietnam to deliver this training locally. He is completing a PhD in the clinical translation of emerging biotechnology, having been awarded a research training program scholarship to undertake his research at the University of Sydney.