Bruce is a Plastic Surgeon and Hand Surgeon who has a Consultant Plastic Surgeon appointment at Middlemore Hospital and who consults privately at Eastcare Specialist Centre (Botany) and Handworks (Epsom). He operates privately at EastCare (local anaesthetic cases), Ormiston Hospital, Brightside Hospital and Ascot Hospital.
Born and educated in Auckland, Bruce graduated from the Auckland School of Medicine and trained as a Plastic Surgeon in New Zealand, achieving Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1989.
He trained for five years overseas undertaking further post-graduate training in Hand Surgery (USA), Microsurgery (Canada) and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery (England), including work as an Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery in the USA.
Bruce returned to Auckland in 1994 as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Middlemore Hospital, subsequently working as Deputy and then Head of the Plastic Surgery Department, where he remains as one of the senior Plastic Surgeons.
He has published significant articles in leading Plastic Surgery journals and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons and the New Zealand Society for Surgery of the Hand.
He trained for five years overseas undertaking further post-graduate training in Hand Surgery (USA), Microsurgery (Canada) and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery (England), including work as an Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery in the USA.
Bruce returned to Auckland in 1994 as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Middlemore Hospital, subsequently working as Deputy and then Head of the Plastic Surgery Department, where he remains as one of the senior Plastic Surgeons.
He has published significant articles in leading Plastic Surgery journals and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons and the New Zealand Society for Surgery of the Hand.
What is Plastic Surgery?
Plastic surgery covers a wide range of different surgical procedures that repair, reconstruct or replace structures in many different parts of the body including the skin, face and head, hands, breast and stomach. Plastic surgery does not involve the use of plastic materials.
Plastic surgery can generally be divided into two main types:
- Reconstructive surgery: is performed on parts of the body that are abnormal or have been affected by a birth defect, accident or disease. This includes cleft lip and palate repair, scar revision or reconstruction (including skin grafts) following burns. Surgery is usually performed to improve function, but may also be performed to bring the appearance of a part of the body as close as possible to normal.
- Aesthetic or cosmetic surgery: improves appearance or body image by reshaping features of the face or body e.g. breast enlargement, face lift, liposuction.
Bruce focuses on Reconstructive Plastic Surgery particularly in relation to skin cancer, trauma and hand surgery.