Meet Our Weight Loss Surgery Team

Ara is a specialist general surgeon with interests in Laparoscopic and Robotic General, Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric surgery. He offers a full range of weight loss interventions including the Allurion and Orbera balloons. Surgical options include: – sleeve gastrectomy – roux-en-y gastric bypass – revision of prior surgeries ie lap band, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass He is a leading contributor of the Bariatric Surgery Registry, a nationwide government funded quality and safety audit. Ara has been utilising the Da Vinci surgical robot for over 7 years. Robotic procedures performed include bariatric surgery, hiatus hernia and reflux surgery and abdominal wall hernia surgery. Ara can discuss with you the merits of robotic surgery versus the laparoscopic approach. He is happy to see patients for a surgical opinion and discuss the best treatment options including non-surgical approaches. Ara operates at 4 private hospitals: Mulgrave Private, Peninsula Private, St John of God Private – Berwick, Knox Private Hospital. He sees patients as various locations including: Mulgrave, Peninsula, Private, St John of God – Berwick Knox Private, Burwood, Cranbourne, Warragul

Mr Uvan Naidoo is a Consultant General Surgeon with over 25 years of experience in trauma, acute, and elective surgery in Australia and South Africa. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons and has worked extensively across both public and private health services. Mr Naidoo has been a senior surgeon based in the Western District for the past 18 years, providing surgical care to the local community and surrounding region. He brings a strong focus on clinical quality, patient safety, and collaborative care. His clinical interests include minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery and enhanced recovery, with procedures including gallbladder surgery, hernia repair, appendicectomy, colorectal surgery, and surgery for reflux and achalasia. He also performs day‑only procedures under local anaesthetic such as vasectomy, carpal tunnel release, and trigger finger release. Mr Naidoo is part of a multidisciplinary team delivering weight‑loss (bariatric) surgery, contributing surgical expertise within a coordinated, patient‑centred model of care. He holds accreditation with the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) for gastroscopy and colonoscopy and is actively involved in medical education, supervising and mentoring interns, hospital medical officers, surgical trainees, and medical students. He is also a member of the VIC–TAS Training Committee.

Associate professor Chrys Hensman – MBBS, FRACS, Ms conjoint Associate professor Monash University, University of Adelaide, Swinburne University and University of Oceania. Assoc Professor Hensman is an Australian trained specialist General, GI, Minimally invasive and Robotic surgeon based in Melbourne. His main interests are in Robotic and Advanced Minimally invasive surgery including Bariatric, Antireflux surgery, Reflux monitoring using High resolution impedance manometry and pH. He also has interests in Hernia and is a Hernia training mentor. He is currently the RACS ratified hernia Registry representative to the ANZ hernia registry and the RACS hernia mesh representative to the Therapeutic Goods Administration for Australia. He was the ex officio President of the International Sympathectomy surgical society, he has been involved with research and conduct of Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. He has completed with honours a Masters course in Clinical leadership and management from the University of New Castle. He is a member of the research board of the Society of surgical ergonomics. He is actively involved with undergraduate and post graduate teaching including formatting content and supervising The Adelaide based Masters in Minimally invasive surgery focused towards Qualified surgeons course conducted over the last 15 years. He is the clinical supervisor to PhD students, at Monash and Swinburne University and the University of Adelaide. His main research interests include supervising a fully funded 3 year PhD on Ergonomic benefits of Robotic surgery in collaboration with Swinburne University division of Robotics, research into prevention of hernia mesh infection. He has published extensively in various topics on minimally invasive surgery including researching the role of Augmented reality in surgery and SaaS for digitising the end to end operating room processes he has been involved with two patents for surgical devices. Chrys consults and operates at various locations, including St John of God Berwick and Mulgrave Private Hospitals.

Sheryn completed her medical degree at Monash University and underwent surgical residency training at the Alfred Hospital. Following this, she pursued a Fellowship in General Surgery at Eastern Health. Her commitment to advancing her expertise led her to undertake additional subspecialty training in Upper GI Surgery through the ANZGOSA program. She further expanded her skills with a specialised fellowship in Bariatric Surgery at Box Hill Hospital. Sheryn is deeply dedicated to helping her patients achieve optimal outcomes in various areas, including hernia repairs, gallbladder surgery, anti-reflux procedures, and weight loss/metabolic surgery. Her enthusiasm for General Surgery extends to all its facets, including emergency surgery, and she actively participates in the on-call roster at Mulgrave Private Hospital. In addition, Sheryn provides consultations at Peninsula Private Hospital and St John of God Berwick.

Mr Andrew Chong obtained his medical degree from the University of Melbourne in 2011, incorporating a year of research in the UK at Imperial College London. He then completed General Surgery training through Monash Health and obtained his Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in 2021. Andrew subsequently travelled to Singapore and completed a fellowship in Upper GI and Bariatric Surgery, developing skills in advanced minimally-invasive GI surgery. He went on to pursue a further year of post-fellowship training in Upper GI and Endocrine surgery at Northern Health, where he gained further exposure to benign and malignant Upper GI disease, thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal conditions in addition to managing a wide range of surgical emergencies coming through the state's busiest emergency department. He is also accredited by CCRTGE for both gastroscopy and colonoscopy for diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures. Andrew operates at Mulgrave Private Hospital, St John of God Berwick, Knox Private Hospital and Peninsula Private Hospital. He currently consults at our Dandenong North rooms, at Knox Private Hospital and at St John of God Berwick. He also works publicly at Northern Health and Eastern Health.

Dr Vinay Bharatula is a Melbourne-trained General Physician and Intensivist with a clinical interest in peri-operative medicine and the management of patients with complex multi-morbidity. Born and raised in Melbourne, Vinay graduated from Monash University and completed physician training through The Alfred Hospital. He subsequently completed specialist training in Intensive Care Medicine, including anaesthesia, with training at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Monash Health. Vinay provides care for patients with a broad range of medical conditions and works collaboratively with surgeons and multidisciplinary teams in the assessment and management of patients. He is currently a part-time PhD candidate and is an Honorary Research Fellow at The Alfred Hospital. His research has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals and focuses on critical care and peri-operative medicine. Outside of medicine, Vinay enjoys tennis and cricket.

Dr Michael Ho is a General, Respiratory & Sleep Medicine Physician at LapSurgery Australia.

Dr Xun Li is a General, Respiratory & Sleep Medicine Physician at LapSurgery Australia.

Dr Kien Tow is a Perioperative & General Physician at LapSurgery Australia.

Dr Jason Moghaddas is a Perioperative & General Physician at LapSurgery Australia.

Genevieve is an experienced nurse with a background working in spinal interventional pain management specialist clinic, where she accumulated years of valuable expertise. She now enjoys working with bariatric and general surgery patients, finding it incredibly rewarding. Genevieve is involved in post op wound care and management and assisting with manometry testing, Allurion balloon insertion, and coordinating the Bariatric Surgery Registry. Her commitment to patient care, combined with her knowledge and compassion, allows her to make a significant impact on the lives of individuals undergoing weight loss and other health journeys.

Nicole is an Accredited Practising Dietitian holding a Master’s Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics from Monash University. Her passion for food and culinary arts harmonises seamlessly with her proficiency in nutritional science, empowering her to offer tailored medical nutrition therapy for individuals and families. An advocate for non-diet, weight-inclusive approaches, Nicole fosters a compassionate, non-judgemental environment to discuss nutritional health concerns. With an interest and expertise in the management of bariatric nutrition, metabolic nutrition (eg. GLP-1), gastrointestinal issues, nutrient deficiencies and diet-related chronic conditions, Nicole will support you to achieve positive and sustainable dietary changes to enhance both physical and mental wellbeing. Nicole is also a Monash Fodmap accredited dietitian, and can help clients with IBS feel confident in identifying and managing food intolerances. Through collaborative and empathetic guidance, Nicole empowers clients to establish positive relationships with food in their journey to holistic wellness.

Jenny Grinstead is registered Psychologist with over 15 years experience providing counselling, training, and assessment and is a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). Her professional practice has included working with a wide range of clients, particularly those with disordered eating, body image concerns, chronic health issues in addition to general mental health conditions.

Luke has a passion to see people's quality of life enhanced with an improvement of their physical health and function. Luke has experience working with people with complex musculoskeletal pain conditions as well as other various health conditions.