Dr. Lipi Shukla overseas training

Lipi is currently 4 months into a 6-month stint undertaking mini fellowships/observerships with expert surgeons throughout the world in the field of peripheral nerve surgery.

She has a keen interest in this field and is expanding her knowledge and expertise in dealing with issues such as:

• Occipital neuralgia nerve decompression surgery (commonly referred to as migraine or headache decompression surgery) – a procedure which is not widely offered in Australia and is a commonly missed condition that can significantly contribute to headaches in many people. She has undertaken training with all the current world experts in this field and looks forward to offering consultations with patients that suffer from nerve compressions in their head and upper neck region that could contribute to their headaches. This will be the first step to assess suitability for surgical management.

• Facial nerve reconstruction after damage to the nerve responsible for facial expression and movements

• Techniques to reinnervate the nipple areolar complex after mastectomy for cancer (in instances of both implant or free tissue transfer reconstructions) or in the case of gender reassignment surgery

• Upper and lower limb nerve decompressions when nerves are entrapped in tight spaces and require release to allow the electrical signals to be transmitted effectively

• Nerve reconstruction after traumatic injuries with techniques such as grafting and/or nerve transfers to restore sensory and motor function to areas lacking such function

• Management of painful nerves after injury (symptomatic neuromas) with techniques such as targeted muscle reinnervation and regenerative peripheral nerve interfaces

Lipi has visited over 15 surgeons to date and attended the Plastic Surgery Research Council conference in Cleveland, Ohio as well as the Upper limb nerve transfer conference in Paris, France. A few pictures of her travels below: