Bendigo Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre, VIC

MBBS FRACS (Orth)

Mr James’ principal area of interest has been the design of total knee joint prostheses and the surgical instruments used to implant them. This interest has seen his practice focus on knee joint arthroscopy and reconstruction and joint replacement surgery of the knee and hip.

Another area of specific interest has been the introduction and development of computer navigation for total knee surgery and the performance of knee arthroscopy under local rather than general anaesthesia.

He graduated from Melbourne University (MBBS) and undertook his early surgical training at the Repatriation Hospital, Melbourne. Mr James completed his Orthopaedic Specialist Training (FRACS) with the Australian Orthopaedic Association in 1990 and undertook further subspecialty Fellowships in lower limb surgery.

Mr James’ first Fellowship was in knee and sports surgery in Sydney with Mr Neil Thompson, who is one of Australia’s pioneers of knee arthroscopy. This was followed by a lower limb joint replacement Fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University Boston, Massachusetts, in the USA, under the tutorage of Drs Dick Scott, Tom Thornhill and Fred Ewald. The third placement was a hip replacement Fellowship under the mentorship of Dr Robin Ling and the Exeter Group in Exeter, England, UK. Mr James continues to maintain a close association with his US and British colleagues, collaborating on research and design projects.

He has also developed and refined a method of hamstring ACL reconstruction that obviates the need for metallic fixation devices. This not only makes the surgery less expensive but also allows further MRI scan in the future without image distortion in the presence of metal. Mr James is actively involved with supervision of advanced orthopaedic trainees and travels regularly to present at educational forums in South East Asias.