About the practice
A small team built around one surgeon, one anaesthetist and a group of stomal therapy nurses who have worked together for years.
Since 2007
Nineteen years operating in Western Sydney
General surgical training at Westmead, three years of the Mitchell J Notaras Fellowship, advanced training at Royal Prince Alfred and the John Goligher Colorectal Unit in Leeds.
Consulting at Bella Vista, Castle Hill and Westmead
Consultant surgeon
Professor Toufic El-Khoury
Professor El-Khoury is a consultant in general, colorectal and laparoscopic surgery. He completed his training in general surgery at Westmead Hospital in 2007, and was awarded the Mitchell J Notaras Fellowship in Colorectal Surgery for three consecutive years to undertake advanced training in colorectal surgery. The fellowship is awarded by the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand together with the University of Sydney.
In 2008 he completed a year of full time research at the Surgical Outcome Research Centre and obtained his Masters of Surgery from the University of Sydney in 2009. His thesis addressed the role of sentinel node biopsy in the surgical management of rectal cancer.
His advanced clinical training in colorectal surgery was completed at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and at the John Goligher Colorectal Unit in the United Kingdom.
He has a special interest in minimally invasive surgery, inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. He is fluent in both French and Arabic.
- MBBSBachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of SurgeryUniversity of Sydney
- FRACSFellow of the Royal Australasian College of SurgeonsRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons
- MSMasters of Surgery, ColorectalUniversity of Sydney
- CSSANZMember, Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand
- TeachingProfessor, School of MedicineUniversity of Sydney
- TeachingProfessor, School of MedicineUniversity of Notre Dame
Dr Raymond Nassar
BSc(Med) MBBS FANZCA
Dr Nassar has been part of Professor El-Khoury's team since the very beginning. He completed his postgraduate qualification in anaesthesia at Westmead Hospital, one of Sydney's largest tertiary hospitals, in 2010.
He holds appointments at Norwest Private, the SAN, Westmead Private and North Shore Private hospitals. His subspecialty interests include anaesthesia for bowel surgery, neurosurgery and vascular surgery.
Stomal therapy nurses
Leslie, Bronwyn, Lee and Karen are expert stomal therapists who work closely with Professor El-Khoury to care for patients with a permanent or temporary stoma, whether a colostomy or an ileostomy. Their contribution to patient care is invaluable.
They help patients adjust to living with a stoma through counselling, pre-operative siting, education and ongoing support, and they provide written information on stomal care. They are contactable directly on their mobiles and can arrange to see you in the outpatient clinic at Westmead or at the Norwest rooms.
- LeslieNorwest Private Hospital0403 497 793
- BronwynNorwest Private Hospital0401 248 334
- KarenWestmead Hospital0427 127 795
- LeeWestmead Hospital0409 962 111
How care is coordinated
Nobody plans your treatment alone
Every patient diagnosed with cancer is discussed at a multidisciplinary team meeting held each Friday morning. Colorectal surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, genetic physicians, pathologists, radiologists, stomal therapy nurses and a cancer care coordinator all contribute before a plan is settled.
For inflammatory bowel disease, Professor El-Khoury works alongside gastroenterologists, pathologists and radiologists so that the timing of any surgery fits with your medical treatment.