Dr Shadi Faraj
MBBS, FRACS
Specialist Surgeon | Breast, Endocrine and Surgical Oncology | General and Laparoscopic Surgery | Endoscopy
Specialist Surgeon at Ponti Health
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General surgical procedures
• Keyhole hernia repair (inguinal, femoral, umbilical, epigastric, incisional)
• Keyhole gallbladder removal
• Vasectomy
• Toenail surgery (wedge resection for ingrown toenails)
• Skin lesion excision, including skin cancers, with flap or graft repair where needed
• Excision of lipomas and cysts, with histopathology on all specimens
• Keyhole appendix removal
• Haemorrhoid and perianal surgery (haemorrhoids, abscesses, fistulas, fissures)
• Diagnostic laparoscopy for chronic abdominal pain
Breast
• Benign and malignant breast conditions
• Breast-conserving surgery with attention to aesthetic outcome
• Cases discussed at multidisciplinary team meeting
• Full member, Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand (BreastSurgANZ)
Thyroid and parathyroid
• Hemithyroidectomy and total thyroidectomy for multinodular goitre, hyperthyroidism unresponsive to medication, and thyroid cancer
• Intraoperative NIM nerve monitoring
• Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy via 2cm incision for single localised adenoma
• Full member, Australian and New Zealand Endocrine Surgeons (ANZES)
Surgical oncology
• Benign soft tissue tumours: cysts, lipomas, skin lesions
• Malignant: melanoma, SCC, BCC, sarcomas
• Member, Australasian Sarcoma Study Group
Endoscopy
• Upper GI endoscopy with biopsy
• Colonoscopy, including polypectomy, biopsy and haemorrhoid banding
• In-rooms nasendoscopy
• GESA accredited for gastroscopy and colonoscopy
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East Sydney Private Hospital, Crown Street, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011
Lakeview Private Hospital, Bella Vista, in The Hills district
Westmead Private Hospital, Westmead
Hawkesbury District Hospital, Windsor
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English, Russian and Arabic
A calm, patient approach to understanding your results, exploring your options, and planning the next steps in your care.
Dr Shadi Faraj is a specialist surgeon whose practice centres on breast disease, thyroid and parathyroid disease, and soft tissue tumours. He also performs general and laparoscopic surgery and endoscopy, including gastroscopy and colonoscopy.
Many people arrive at a surgical consultation with a finding or result that has raised questions: a breast lump, an ultrasound report or a thyroid nodule discovered during another investigation. Dr Faraj takes time to explain what these findings mean, discuss whether surgery is needed and guide each patient through the options suited to their circumstances.
Dr Faraj completed his surgical training at Westmead Hospital and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He undertook further subspecialty training in surgical oncology and breast surgery at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney.
At Ponti Health, Dr Faraj works alongside the GPs, endocrinologists, psychiatrists and physiotherapists involved in a patient’s care. A surgical opinion can form part of an existing care plan, whether a concern emerges during a perimenopause assessment, a routine breast check or investigations into ongoing abdominal symptoms. Care is coordinated through the practice’s multidisciplinary team meetings.
Dr Faraj welcomes referrals from GPs at Ponti Health and from outside the practice. For endoscopy referrals, results and histopathology are returned to the referring GP to support follow-up and continuity of care. He also accepts referrals for hernias, gallbladder conditions and skin lesions.
A GP referral is needed to claim a Medicare rebate for a surgical consultation. Referrals can be sent to enquiries@pontihealth.com or on 02 7201 0015.
Dr Faraj is a full member of Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand and Australian and New Zealand Endocrine Surgeons. He is also a member of the Australasian Sarcoma Study Group and the Academy of Surgical Educators at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
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A referral from a GP or another specialist is required for a Medicare rebate. Without one, the consultation can still go ahead as a private appointment.
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Yes. Like every Ponti Health clinician, Dr Faraj welcomes referrals from GPs and other clinicians outside the practice. Ponti Health works with hundreds of GPs and other clinicians across Sydney and Australia, and in a short time has built close working relationships with them, with the patient at the centre.
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Not necessarily. Many consultations end with observation, a repeat scan in several months, or a biopsy, and a number of breast and soft tissue findings never require an operation.
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Every specimen is sent for histopathology, including those expected to be benign.
Is breast cancer surgery at Ponti Health discussed with other specialists?
Breast cancer cases are presented at a multidisciplinary team meeting before a recommendation is made.
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Consultations are held at Ponti Health. Surgery is performed at East Sydney Private Hospital in Woolloomooloo and at Lakeview Private Hospital in The Hills district.
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Fifteen years or more, in most cases. A medical degree takes six to eight years depending on whether it follows an undergraduate degree, and is followed by a year as an intern.
Entry to surgical training is competitive, so most doctors spend several further years as hospital residents before they are accepted. Before applying they must hold general registration, pass the College's Generic Surgical Sciences and Clinical examinations, and complete set rotations in general surgery and critical care.
Surgical Education and Training in general surgery then runs for five years full time. On completing it, a trainee can apply for Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, which is the FRACS after a surgeon's name.
Many then do a further one to two years of subspecialty training, which is where areas such as breast, endocrine and cancer surgery are learned. Dr Faraj completed his at Prince of Wales Hospital after training at Westmead.
