Dr Tran giving a talk at the European Hernia Society conference
Dr Tran is the Founding President of the Australasian Hernia Society and is a regular invited speaker to the annual congresses of the American, European and Asia Pacific Hernia Societies. He is committed to education and the advancement of hernia repair and he runs regular workshops to teach other qualified surgeons the benefits of key hole surgery. Dr Tran has performed some 5000 laparoscopic hernia repairs. His extensive and outstanding clinical and experimental research has been presented at over 120 National and International meetings. He has also published over 50 book chapters and articles in refereed journals including Hernia Journal, Journal of Immunology and Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. He is a reviewer for submitted articles for publication in numerous peer-reviewed journals including the World Journal of Abdominal Wall Surgery, the British Medical Journal, the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Digestive System, Asian Journal of Endoscopic Surgery and Frontiers in Medicine.
Dr Tran is a pioneer in hernia repair and has achieved many world and Australian firsts in hernia surgery including:
- The first surgeon in the world to perform robotic Freehand® single incision laparoscopic total extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair using standard dissecting instruments;
- The first surgeon in the world to perform robotic Freehand® single incision laparoscopic ventral incisional hernia repair using standard dissecting instruments;
- The first in the world to perform single incision laparoscopic parastomal hernia repair with modified Sugarbaker technique using standard instruments;
- The first in the world to routinely repair the belly button hernia using a tiny incision where a special mesh is placed behind the muscles but outside of the abdominal cavity. He has shown this repair to be highly successful and virtually abolished complications such as adhesions. Patients can usually return to full physical activities after one week compared to a month for other conventional repairs;
- The first in Australia to contribute to the publication of the first International Guidelines for Groin Hernia Management in January 2018;
- The first in Australia to perform laparoscopic intraperitoneal onlay mesh repair for multiply recurrent groin hernias after conventional open and key hole repair by placing a non-sticky mesh inside the abdomen;
- The first in Australia to use the glue spray to stick the mesh in place to minimize the use of staples which can impinge on nerves causing pain after hernia repair;
- The first in Australia to describe the key hole repair of difficult lower abdominal wall hernias using a special non-sticky mesh which ensures high success rates, reduce complications and quicken recovery to full physical activities;
- The first in Australia to describe the surgical treatment of hernia recurrence and chronic pain after conventional groin hernia repair using the combined key hole approach to repair the hernia and the open approach to cure debilitating nerve related pain;
- The first in Australia to offer key hole repair of both groin hernias through a single small incision under the belly button;
- The first surgeon in Australia to successfully perform laparoscopic parastomal hernia repair with a modified Sugarbaker technique.