Dr. George Kirsh Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine
Dr. George Kirsh was trained in orthopaedic surgery in Australia and England. He has been a Visiting Medical Officer at Bankstown Hospital for 30 years and at St George Private Hospital since its opening over 20 years ago.
He specialises in arthroscopic and replacement surgery of the knee, hip and shoulder. Computer navigation of joint replacement has been his long-term passion, being one of the founders of this technique in Australia over 15 years ago, and he now extends that into the use of robotics.
Dr. Kirsh has lectured on joint replacement throughout Asia for many years and has regular visits from Asian surgeons to observe joint replacement, computer navigation and robotics at St George Private and Bankstown Hospitals
Education
- MB BS (UNSW) - 1982
- FRACS Part 1 - Passed March 1985
- FRACS Part 2 - Passed May 1990
- EMST Course - Taken and Passed October 1991
- Higher School Certificate School - 1976 North Sydney Boy's High
Current Appointments
- Visiting Medical Officer - Bankstown/Lidcombe Hospital
- Visiting Medical Officer - St George Private Hospital
Medicine/Surgery Term
- AEC St Vincent’s Hospital - Sydney
Supervisor: Mr T. J. Claffey - Project/Paper: "A Survey of 100 Consecutive Bony Injuries in St Vincent’s Hospital AEC" - March 1982
Elective Term
- Spent with Orthopaedic Surgery Department
St George Hospital
Supervisor: Mr. A. F. Bencsik - University Of New South Wales Medical Revue - 1980
In cast and head of scenery and props production
Sport
- Soccer - Weekend competition and intramural teams
- Squash - Social participation
- Sailing - Racing with the Middle Harbour Yacht - offshore sailing including Hobart to Sydney.
- Snow Skiing - Social Participation
- 1983: Intern Year - St Vincent’s Hospital
- 1984: First Year Resident Medical Officer - St Vincent’s Hospital
- 1985: Senior Surgical Resident Medical Officer - St Vincent’s Hospital
- 1986: Orthopaedic Registrar - St George Private Hospital
Appointed to the Australian Orthopaedic Association Sydney Training Scheme
- 1987: Orthopaedic Registrar - St Vincent’s General and Private Hospitals
- 1988: Orthopaedic Registrar - Prince of Wales Hospital
- 1989: Senior Orthopaedic Registrar - Nottingham, England
- December 1988 to May 1989 - Queen’s Medical Centre, University Hospital
Senior Registrar to Mr C L Colton - Senior Registrar on duty at the time of the Kegworth M1 air crash
- June 1989 to October 1989 - Harlow Wood Orthopaedic Hospital
Senior Registrar to Mr N J Barton and Miss H G Prince - November 1989 to July 1990 - Orthopaedic Registrar - St George Hospital
- Part 2 - FRACS - passed May 1990
- July 1990 to January 1991 - Orthopaedic Registrar - Pacific Private Hospital
- RACS EMST Course - passed in October 1991
Publications & Papers
- Kirsh, G; Learmonth, DGA; Martindale, JP
The Nottingham, Leicester, Derby Aircraft Accident Study
A preliminary report – Three Weeks After The Accident
British Medical Journal No 6672, Vol 298, 25 February 1989 - Kirsh, G and Rowles, JM
The Management of Major Disaster
A Chapter in Recent Advances in Orthopaedics No 6, edited by A Catterall - Learmonth, DJA; Martindale, JP; Kirsh, G; Rowles, JM
Initial Management of Open Fractures Sustained in the M1 Aircraft Disaster
Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Belfast (NLDB) Study Group
Injury: 1991May, 22(3): 207-11 - Tait, GR; Rowles, JM; Kirsh, G; Murphy, JSG
Delayed Diagnosis of Injuries from the M1 Aircraft Accident
Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Belfast Study Group
Injury: 1991 November, 33 (6): 475-8 - Kirsh, G; Rowles, JM; Macey, AC
The Use of Injury Scoring in the Evaluation of the Kegworth M1 Aircrash
Journal of Trauma-Injury, Infection & Critical Care 1992, April 32 (4): 441-7 - Reiss-Levy, EA; Kirsh, G; Tapsall, JW; Hillery, SJ
Gonoccal Arthritis – A Bangkok Connection
The Medical Journal of Australia Vol 157, 3 August 1992 : 214-5 - Liaw, Y; Kalnins, G; Kirsh, G; Meakin
I Combined Fourth and Fifth Metacarpal Fracture and Fifth Carpo-Metacarpal Joint Dislocation
Journal of Hand Surgery (British & European Vol, 1995) 20:2: 249-252 - Mansberg, R; Lewis, G; Kirsh, G Avascular Necrosis and Fracture of the Capitate Bone: Unusual Scintigraphic Features
Clinical Nuclear Medicine May 2000 25 (5): 372-3 - Herald, J; Macdessi, S; Kirsh, G
An Unusual Case of Groin Pain following Hip Replacement. A Case Report Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery September 2001 Vol 83A: Number 9: 1392-3 - Vasili, C; Kligman, M; Kirsh, G
Incidental Finding of Chondroid Lipoma at Total Hip Arthroplasty
Journal of the Southern Orthopaedic Association Fall 2000, Vol 9: No 3: 219-221 - Kirsh, G; Kligman, M; Roffman M
Hydroxyapatite coated Total Hip Replacement in Paget’s Disease
20 patients followed for 4-8 years
Acta Orthopaedic Scandinavica Vol 72: 2: 127-132 - I also set up a prospective trial at University Hospital, Nottingham, to studypin-site infections and the use of different solutions to pin-site hygiene.
- Case Reports: Fracture and Dislocation of Proximal Humerus in a Two YearOld – Submitted for Publication
- Hydroxyapatite Total Hip Replacement Papers
Kirsh, G; Kligman, M - Hydroxyapatite Total Hip Replacement in Elderly Patients
Submitted to Acta Orthopaedia, Scandinavia - Hydroxyapatite Total Hip Replacement in Osteoporosis
Bulletin – Hospital of Joint Disease - Leonid Kandel, MD, Con Vasili MBBS FRACS (Orth), George KirshMBBS, FRACS(Orth), FA(Orth)A
Extramedullary Femoral Alignment Instrumentation Reduces Blood Loss AfterUncemented Total Knee Arthroplasty(Journal of Knee Surgery Volume 19Number 4 2006 (19 – 256 – 258)
Osteolysis in Third-Generation Alumina Ceramic-on-Ceramic Hip Bearings With Severe Impingement and Titanium Metallosis
Rajmohan Murali, S Fiona Bonar, George Kirsh, William K Walter, William L Walter
Joint Arthroplasty 2008 2, 18534463 (P.S.E.B.D.) - Currently performing prospective studies on navigated TKR and fixed flexion
- Martin P Laird, George Kirsh, Jacob Kaplan
Fixed flexion deformity after total knee arthroplasty is reduced by computer navigation
J.Orthopaedics 2011; 8(4)e3 - Navendu Goyal, Darren B. Chen, Ian A. Harris, Neville Rowden, George Kirsh,Samuel J. Macdessi.
Clinical and financial benefits of intra-articular tranexamic acid in total kneearthroplasty.
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery 2016;24(1):3-6 - Raj Ramakrishna, Sarika Gupta, Kiran Sarathy, Marijka Batterham & George Kirsh.
Combined Short Course Low Molecular Weight Heparin and Calf Compression Therapy in Prevention of Deep Vein Thrombosis after Total Knee Replacement: A Randomized Prospective Study.
Journal of Hematology & Thromboembolic Diseases: Volume 1 - Issue 4 - Navendu Goyal, Darren B. Chen, Ian A. Harris, Neville Rowden, GeorgeKirsh,Samuel J. Macdessi.
Intravenous vs Intra-Articular Tranexamic Acid in Total Knee Replacement: A Randomised Double-blind Trial J Arthroplasty. 2017 Jan;32(1):28-32. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2016.07.004. Epub2016 Jul 15.
PMID: 27567057
Lectures
- Operating Theatre Sisters Course, St Vincent’s Hospital
- 1985 - Surgical Anatomy & Physiology
- 1987 – Operative Orthopaedics – Traumatic
- Post Basic Sisters Orthopaedic Course
NSW College of Nursing- 1986/1987/1990 – Internal Fixation of Fractures
- 1990/1993 – Upper Limb Injuries
- 1990/1993 – The Treatment of Multiple Trauma Patients & Disaster Management
- Operating Theatre Sisters Course, Prince of Wales Hospital
- 1988 – Operative Orthopaedics – Trauma & Elective
- RACS NSW Registrar’s Paper Day
- 1985 – Hip Joint Surgery & Lower Limb Ischaemia – A Prospective Study
- Annual Scientific Meeting – The Australian Orthopaedic Association & Annual Meeting of the Australian Knee Society
- 1987 – Isometric Placement of Anterior Cruciate Ligament
- Reconstructions – A Cadaveric Study with Mr B G Courtenary
- The Prince of Wales Hospital Orthopaedic Meetings
- 1988 – Anatomy & Biomechanics of the Shoulder Joint
- The Blood Supply to the Tibia and the Natural History of TibialFracturesPlantar FasciitisInfective Non-union
- University Hospital, Notthingham
- 1989 – The Huckstep Nail – Applications & Operative Technique
- Sixth World Congress on Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Hong Kong
- 1989 – The NLDB Aircraft Accident Study – The injuries and Consequences of the M1 Aircraft Accident Rowles, JM; Kirsh, G; Learmonth, DJA; Martindale, JP; and theNLDB Study Group
- The NLDB Aircraft Accident Study – Disaster Documentation, Lessons and Prospects
Macey, AC; Tait, GR; Rowles, MJ; Kirsh, G; Murphy, JSG; and the NLDB Study Group - Both papers were also presented at the Irish Orthopaedic AssociationMeeting – 1989
- Assaf Harrofe Hospital, Israel
- 1989 – The Kegworth M1 Aircrash
Infection and Internal Fixation
The Huckstep Nail – Application & Operative Technique
- 1989 – The Kegworth M1 Aircrash
- Hadassah Hospital, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
- 1989 – The Kegworth M1 Aircrash
- British Orthopaedic Association Spring Meeting, Glasgow
- 1990 – Initial Management of Open Fractures Sustained in the M1 Aircraft Disaster
Learmonth, DJA; Rowles, JM; Martindale, JP; Tait, GR; Kirsh, G; Sheppard, I Disaster Documation – Lessons & Prospects Macey, AC; Tair, GR; Rowles, JM; Kirsh, G; Murphy, JSG
Delayed Diagnosis of Injuries of the M1 Aircraft Accident Tait, GR; Rowles, JM; Kirsh, G; Martindale, JP; Learmonth, DJA
- 1990 – Initial Management of Open Fractures Sustained in the M1 Aircraft Disaster
- Australian Orthopaedic Association NSW State Meeting,Liverpool Hospital
- 1990 – The Kegworth M1 Aircrash – Orthopaedic Input & Overview
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting,Brisbane
- 1990 – Lower Limb Injuries in an Aircrash – Can they be avoided?
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Registrars Basic Course, Sydney
- 1996- Internal Fixation
- Bone Healing – Stable and Unstable Conditions for Proximal and Distal Femur Fractures
- Fixation Options of Fractures in the Proximal & Distal Femur
- Implant Removal – Indications and Timing
- Management of Delayed Union and non-union
- 1996- Internal Fixation
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Brisbane 1999
- Hydroxyapatite – Total Hip Replacement
- Hydroxyapatite – Total Hip Replacement in Elderly Patients
- Hydroxyapatite – Total Hip Replacement in Paget’s Disease
- Hydroxyapatite – Total Hip Replacement in Osteoporosis
- Joint Replacement Conference, Queenstown New Zealand, 1999
- Hydroxyapatite – Total Hip Replacement in Bone Disease
- Lecture to General Practitioners in Bankstown and St George Areas andto General Practitioners Training Scheme.
- Pin placement in Knee Navigation
Navigation Knee Users Meeting, Brisbane 2004 - ACAOS Meeting, Hong Kong November 2004
Navigated Total Knee Replacement
Lecture and Practical Demonstrations and Panel Discussions - Lectures and live demonstration Computer Navigated Knee Replacement New Delhi January 2006
- Lectures and live demonstration of Scorpio Total Knee Replacement And Computer Navigation New Delhi and Chandigarh, India August 2006
- Lectures and live demonstration of Scorpio Total Knee ReplacementAnd Computer Navigation Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Surat and Nagpur August 2007
- AOA ASM June 2007- Time and cost savings with computer navigated TKR Hong Kong
- Regular presenter and demonstrator at cadaver workshops for computer navigation in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)
- Lectures and live surgery demonstration - Mumbai 2008
Evolution of SCORPIO NRG
Fixed flexion deformity & TKR
UKR versus TKR
SCORPIO TS use with SCORPIO NRG
Early experiences with hip navigation - Lectures and live surgery demonstration - Dehli 2009
Deep Venous Prophylaxis in TKR
Benefits of Computer Navigation in TKR
Principles of revision surgery
Evolution of SCORPIO TKR
THR - Surgical approaches - Lecutres at Stryker Knee user group - Brisbane 2009
- Lectures and live surgery - Tokyo 2010
Benefits of Navigation
Navigation with operating theatre efficiency
SCORPIO NRG - Clinical results from Australia - Lectures at 4th Asia Pacific Hip & Knee Symposium - Shanghai 2010
Navigated TKR & fixed flexion deformity
Instrument options with navigation
SCORPIO NRG Surgical technique - Lectures at 5th Asia Pacific Hip & Knee Symposium
Hong Kong - March 2011
Revision TKR
Cementless Modular Revision THR
Optimising Constraint TKR
TKR Design rational & instrument options - Twin City Orthopaedic Learning Centre Meeting
Prince of Wales Hospital - Hong Kong - September 2011
Computer Navigation in TKR
Results of TKR in Australia
Cadaver demonstrations - Orthopaedic Learning Centre Meeting - Hong Kong 2012
Principles of TKR
Management of the stiff knee
Cadaver and saw bones demonstrations. - Stryker Joint Replacement Conference
Sydney - March 2014
Computer Navigation in Total Hip Replacement - Great Expectations Conference Delhi India March 2015
Navigation - The Learning Curve
Financial and Clinical Benefits of Intra-Articular Tranexamic Acid - Great Expectations Conference Melbourne April 2016
My Experience with Scorpio NRG
Navigation - the Case for its Use in 2016 - Stryker Revision TKR Meeting Innsbruck Austria September 2016
Lectures, Saw Bones and Cadaver Workshops as International Lecturer
Maximising Patient Outcomes - Post-Operative Outcomes
Case Studies
Why do Knees Replacements Fail?
Single Radius and Soft Tissue Guided Motion - the Evolution of Scorpio - Indian Arthroplasty Association Convention 2016
Delhi November 2016
International Guest Lecturer - Live Surgery and Lectures
Benefits of Computer Navigation in Knee & Hip Replacement and Why Robotics?
Economic and Clinical Benefits of Intra-Articular Tranexamic Acid
Case Studies and Live Surgery Demonstration using Computer Navigaton - Knee Surgery and Technology Sydney 2016
Navigation - the Case for its Use in 2016 - Great Expectations Conference Seoul South Korea April 2017
Advances in Peri & Post-Operative Management - Joint Replacement Single Radius Knee Replacement in Australia - Champions Meet Conference Delhi September 2018
The Road from Conventional TKR to Navigation and then to Robotics Progression from Scorpio to Triathlon
Conferences Attended
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Registrar’s Conference
Sydney 1986 - Melbourne 1987 - Australian Orthopaedic Association Continuing Education Program
Advanced Trauma Technique, Thredbo 1986 - St George Hospital Orthopaedic Skills Laboratory Workshops, 1986
Paediatric Workshop - Caterall, A and Morrissey, R
Knee Surgery with Lewisham Sports & Medicine Clinic
Arthroscopy
Total Knee Replacement - Hedley, AK - St George Hospital Orthopaedic Skills Laboratory Workshop, 1990
Shoulder Surgery Update - Dove, J; Leong, J; Ransford, A - Fifth Congress of the International Society of the Knee, Sydney 1987
- Workshop of Total Joint Replacement 1987 - Whiteside, L
- RACS Scientific Meeting - Trauma & Microsurgical Techniques
Brisbane, 1988 - St Vincent’s Private Hospital - Workshop on Revision Total Hip and Knee Replacement - Hedley, AK 1988
- Hip Disorders in Young People, Bristol University 1989
Bombelli; Caterall; Sharrard; Ring; Ling; Colton - AO Basic Course, Nottingham 1989
- Surgery of the Foot, St Vincent’s Hospital 1990 - Mann, RA
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Brisbane 1990
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Annual Meeting 1991
- Instructional Courses in Pelvic and Acetabular Fractures, Compound Fractures and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Adelaide 1991
- International Symposium on Locked Intramedullary Nailing, Hong Kong 1992
- International Arthroscopy Association Meeting, Adelaide 1992
- Technological Development in Hip and Knee Replacement, Breckenridge 1994
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Melbourne 1995
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Perth 1996
- State of the Art Hip and Knee Replacement, Banff 1997
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, New Orleans 1998
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Cairns 1998
- Joint Replacement Conference, Queenstown 1999
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Brisbane 1999
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, San Francisco 2001
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Continuing Orthopaedic Education Knee, Darwin, 2002
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Continuing Orthopaedic Education Hip, Sydney 2003
- Knee Replacement, Current Concepts, Prague 2003
- Minimally Invasive Hip Replacement AAOS Course, Chicago, June 2005
- Scorpio Masters Meeting, New York October 2006
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Gold Coast October 2007
- International Arthroscopic "Skills Lab" - Changi General Hospital Singapore December 2009
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Sydney 2009
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, New Orleans 2010
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, Sydney 2012
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Sugeons Annual Meeting, Orlando 2016
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Sugeons Annual Meeting, New Orleans 2018
- MAKO Robot Users Meeting Melbourne August 2018
- MAKO Robot Users Meeting Melbourne August 2019
Overseas Visits/Experience
- C L Colton, Nottingham - Trauma & Paediatric Surgery 1988-1989
- N J Barton, Nottingham - Hand Surgery 1989
- Assisted Dr Richard Morris in rewriting/restructuring of the Disaster Plan at the St George Hospital in 1991
- Joel Matta, Los Angeles - Acetabular & Pelvic fractures 1991
- Marvin Tile & Joseph Schatzker - Visits to Sunnybrook Trauma Centre, Toronto 1991
- Michael Chapman - UC Davis Hospital Trauma Unit, Sacramento, USA 1993
- Osteonics Joint Replacement Factory - New Jersey,USA 1998
- Previously on the Medical Board of Westpac SLC Helicopter Service
- Rothman Institute - Philadelphia 2005/2008
- Stryker Factory/Headquarters – Mahwah, New Jersey USA, 2005/2008
- Hospital Philadelphia/Detroit/Cleveland - Stryker Mahwah Sept 2008
- Mako Headquarters / Factory - Surgery attendance and participation - Holy Cross Hospital and Stryker- Mako