William Blake, M.D.

Hi, I'm William Blake and this site is here to let you know a little about me and the work that I do. I am a Melbourne based plastic surgeon with a focused cosmetic and reconstructive surgery practice. To help you find what you want, I've provided pages on my principal procedures and tried to answer your most frequent questions. I'd encourage you to contact me for further information or an appointment if you still have questions - and everyone does!

I am a locally trained and educated plastic and reconstructive surgeon. I have a busy private practice based at Cabrini hospital in Malvern, Victoria, from which I care for a broad range of reconstructive and cosmetic patients.

I adopt as my core professional values:

Individualised personal care
A focus on happy patients
Consistency and confidentiality

I have made a decision to carry out all patient consultations personally rather than to employ 'screening' staff. I feel this adds to a sense of trust and personal involvement and I hope you do too. I live close to the Cabrini Hospital, am married and have two young girls.

Where do you operate?

I operate at two private hospitals. These are Cabrini hospital, Malvern and Cotham Private hospital, Kew. Cabrini is a large institution with a full range of facilities including a dedicated plastic surgery ward, an intensive care unit and an emergency department. It provides superlative care for patients with complex needs. Cotham private is a boutique hospital on a much smaller scale providing recently upgraded facilities for plastic surgery patients. Cotham may provide an intimate, private feel important to certain patients.

What qualifications do you have?

There is no requirement for doctors performing cosmetic procedures to have specific qualifications in Australia so watch out and ask! Many doctors performing cosmetic surgery have no surgical qualifications. I have an honours medical degree from the University of Melbourne and a Plastic Surgery Fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. I participate in courses, conferences and teaching regularly to stay fresh and up-to-date.

What experience do you have?

Having qualified as a doctor in 1997, I have been working exclusively in Plastic Surgery since 2003 and I have developed my key interests in skin malignancy, breast surgery and hands from that time on. I joined the established practice at Cabrini Hospital in 2007.

Education

FRACS, 2007
RACS Part II (Plastic surgery) exam passed 2006
RACS Part I written exam and OSCA, July 2000
Postgraduate Diploma in Surgical Anatomy, 2000 (Melbourne University Private)
Early Management of Severe Trauma - May 2001
M.B.,B.S. (Hons), 1997 (University of Melbourne)

Experience

2007-today: Private practice based at Cabrini Medical Centre with operating at Cabrini Hospital and Cotham Private Hospital. Public appointments at The Alfred hospital and Southern Health.

2006: Advanced training year IV – The Alfred Hospital

2005: Advanced training year III – The Royal Children’s and Royal Melbourne hospitals

2004: Advanced training year II – Western health (Footscray) and Southern health (Dandenong and Monash)

2003: Advanced training year I – Frankston hospital and the Northern hospital

2002: Vascular surgery registrar, RMH (February to August), General surgery registrar, Western General Hospital (August to February)

2001: SHMO based at the Royal Melbourne with rotations in ICU, General, Cardiothoracic and Plastic surgery.

2000: Senior Tutor in Anatomy at the University of Melbourne. Teaching Anatomy and General Surgery to medical, science, physiotherapy and dental students.

1999: JHMO based at the Royal Melbourne with rotations in Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Plastic Surgery and Emergency Medicine.

1998: Intern year at Royal Melbourne Hospital with rotations in General Medicine, General Surgery, Urology and Emergency Medicine.

Professional Associations & Continuing Medical Education

RACS – fellow since 2007 in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Ongoing participation in the college programs for continuing medical education, audit of mortality and selection of plastic surgical trainees.

Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons – member since 2007
American Society of Plastic Surgeons – member since 2008

International meetings:
ISAPS meeting , Melbourne, February 2008
IPRAS meeting, Berlin, June 2007

Supervisor of surgical training at Box Hill hospital, 2008–2010

Prizes and Achievements:

2007: Elected member of Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons
1997: Awarded honours in Medicine and Surgery
1995-1997: Elected to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Board of Studies to represent students in curriculum implementation discussions and to liase between students and clinical staff.
1995-1996: Elected to the Medical Students' Society committee
1990: Australian Students’ Prize for outstanding VCE results