Dr Alec Winder

Dr Alec Winder

Breast & General Surgeon

I am a General Surgeon / Surgical Oncologist specializing in Breast and Melanoma surgery originally from the United Kingdom and then underwent surgical training throughout New Zealand. I completed my General Surgery Fellowship in 2017 and then spent a year at Kings College Hospital in London specializing in Trauma surgery. Subsequently I completed a year and a half at the Royal Marsden as a fellow in Soft tissue Sarcoma and Melanoma (one of the world’s leading cancer hospitals). Since then I have completed the BreastSurgANZ fellowship in Janurary 2022, my second year with Dr. Andrew Spillane, ex-president for BreastsurgANZ at the Melanoma Institute of Australia, as well as completing a graduate certificate in advanced breast surgery from the University of Sydney where I gained a distinction.

I joined the General Surgery team at Townsville University Hospital in April 2022. I have introduced fat grafting and breast reduction to the public hospital, and I am trained in all aspects of current breast surgery including oncoplastic techniques. Since my colleague, Dr. April Miu, has returned to work, I have reduced my public commitment from full-time to part-time and will be available at the Mater for clinics and theatre on Thursdays each week.  Both I, and Dr April Miu work closely in both public and private practice.

I am the current chair of the breast cancer MDT for the Mater and TUH and chair for the Breast Cancer Optimal Care Pathway a new initiative to improve delivery of services to breast cancer patients in North Queensland.

I am happy to see patients with breast issues, benign or malignant. Melanoma patients, although those with facial melanoma or requiring neck dissections may be better served by a plastic/ENT surgeon. I am happy to see common general surgery conditions including hernias and gallbladders, although I do not specialize in laparoscopic hernia surgery. I am also happy to be referred suspicious soft tissue lesions for work up and management, however if a sarcoma is diagnosed it will be discussed with the Sarcoma team in Brisbane who I am building a relationship with at present. I look forward to meeting you.

Publications: 

September 2023

Skin reducing nipple sparing mastectomy and implant reconstruction: Surgical options and risk factors for complications in the larger ptotic breast.

Clinical Surgical Oncology

Vol 2. Issue 3, Sept 2023, 100017

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cson.2023.100017

May 2023

Targeted Axillary dissection: A review covering technical aspects, current recommendations and the future

Medical Research Archives

https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v11i5.3892

ISSN: 2375-1924

December 2022

Sarcoma Chapter (new edition)

Clinical Surgery 4th edition

ISBN: 9780702070501

December 2022

Neoplasms of the Abdominal Wall

(Book Chapter)

Abdominal Wall, Peritoneum and Retroperitoneum

Oxford University Press

ISBN: 9780192862433

October 2022

Radio-isotope occult lesion localization (ROLL) techniques to identify the clipped node for targeted axillary dissection (TAD) in breast cancer.

Journal Article, Primary Author

ANZ Journal of Surgery

May 2021

Is pathological complete response predictable after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer? A single institution’s retrospective experience.

Journal Article, Primary Author

ANZ Journal of Surgery

April 2021

Breast Angiosarcoma Surveillance Study: UK national audit of management and outcomes of angiosarcoma of the breast and chest wall

Multicenter audit / Collaborator

Br J Surg 2021;108(4):388-394

March 2021

Tranexamic acid use in breast surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Annals of Breast Surgery

Research Article, Primary Author

http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/abs-20-126

May 2020

Robotic surgery for gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumour. A single center case series.

Research Article, Primary Author

J Surg Oncol;1-8

https://doi.org/10.1002/jso.26053

May 2018

Does Bariatric Surgery Affect the Incidence of Endometrial Cancer Development? A Systematic Review

Publication primary author

Obes Surg. 2018 May;28(5):1433-1440

August 2017

Does Bariatric Surgery Affect the Incidence of Breast Cancer Development? A Systematic Systematic Review

Publication primary author

Obes Surg. 2017 Nov;27(11):3014-3020

May 2015

Twin sisters with perforated sigmoid

diverticulitis support heredity in the

pathogenesis of diverticular disease.

Letter to the editor

(Int J Colorectal Dis)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25994783

July 2024

Impact of an Online Risk Calculator for Sentinel Node Positivity
on Management of Patients with T1 and T2 Melanomas.
First Author
Published July 2024