Prof. Ramana Balasubramaniam is a Melbourne-based hernia and bariatric surgeon whose practice has centred on the abdominal wall for thirty years. He trained in India before establishing his practice in Australia, and today operates and teaches across both countries and beyond.
He founded the AWR Surgeons Community, an international group of around six thousand surgeons who exchange technique, imaging and outcomes in abdominal wall reconstruction. It has become one of the largest forums of its kind, and much of what is now routine practice in complex hernia repair has been argued out within it.
He serves on the Executive Committee of the Australia & New Zealand Hernia Society and is a co-author of the foundational paper describing the eTEP approach — a technique now used worldwide, and one used routinely at The Hernia Institute™.
Dr. Ashvind Bawa serves as North Zone Director of the AWR Surgeons Community that Prof. Ramana founded. That working relationship is the origin of his association with this institute.
Loss of domain, multiply-recurrent hernias, and infected mesh — the cases that sit at the edge of what is reconstructable.
eTEP, TAR and laparoscopic approaches to ventral and incisional hernia, with a long record of teaching these techniques to other surgeons.
Weight-loss surgery alongside abdominal wall work — the two disciplines overlap frequently in patients with large ventral hernias.
Faculty with the European Hernia Society, and a regular keynote speaker at international meetings on abdominal wall surgery.
Keynote address on abdominal wall reconstruction.
Delivered the named address — a recognition given by the Australia & New Zealand Hernia Society.
Keynote on minimally invasive abdominal wall reconstruction.
Keynote faculty on minimally invasive techniques.
Faculty member, contributing to courses and congress programmes.
Founder of an international community of around 6,000 surgeons focused on abdominal wall reconstruction.
Prof. Ramana serves as International Guide & Visiting Surgeon to The Hernia Institute™. The role is one of mentorship and academic exchange rather than clinical practice at this centre.
In practice that means three things. He reviews and advises on our approach to complex and recurrent abdominal wall reconstruction, particularly cases involving loss of domain or previous mesh failure. He contributes to how our protocols are written, so that what we do here is anchored to current international practice rather than local habit. And he visits periodically to teach, operate alongside the team, and take part in our workshops.
The value of the arrangement is straightforward: it means a patient treated in Ludhiana is treated according to protocols that have been examined by someone who helped shape them internationally.
Please note: Prof. Ramana practises in Melbourne, Australia. He is not available for patient consultations or surgery at The Hernia Institute™. All clinical care at this centre is provided by our three resident consultants.
His own site and channel carry his surgical teaching, technique videos and writing on abdominal wall reconstruction.