The nucleus of the group was formed in 1997 when Damian Ireland invited Stephen Tham to join him in private practice with a vision of bringing together a group of surgeons dedicated exclusively to treatment of all problems involving the hand and wrist. VHSA was formed in 1999 when Tony Berger moved his busy private practice to join the group. The group has now grown to include 8 specialist hand surgeons.

VHSA unites the specialist skills of plastic and orthopaedic hand surgeons who work together by invitation in a collaborative environment while maintaining their own private practice, ensuring better outcomes for their patients. Bringing together a wealth of experience and knowledge, the surgeons of the VHSA strive to provide state-of-the-art management of all hand conditions.

In addition to providing leading care, the surgeons are committed to the ongoing education of qualified orthopaedic and plastic surgeons, both from Australia and overseas, with the provision of a Hand Surgery Fellowship. This Fellowship has been successfully run since 1992 with trainees from all over the world including the UK, Ireland, Malaysia, Canada, Israel, Sri Lanka and Brazil.

The surgeons of VHSA are also actively involved with the teaching and training of medical undergraduates and trainee plastic and orthopaedic registrars. Research activities are undertaken within Victorian Hand Surgery Associates and at the O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery in St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne.

The surgeons of VHSA regularly attend and contribute to national and international hand and wrist surgery meetings and are on various Boards of National and International Hand Surgery Societies. All our surgeons participate in appropriate Continuing Medical Education programs to ensure they are up to date with surgical knowledge.

Public hospital appointments are held at the Hand Surgery Unit at St Vincent´s Hospital, Royal Children´s Hospital, Monash Medical Centre and Dandenong Hospital.