Michael Byrom Heart and Lung Surgeon

03/06/2025

So pleased to see the start of lung cancer screening July this year, and hopeful that many patients will have their cancer found at a much earlier and treatable stage.

After years of lobbying from patients, the first ever national lung cancer screening program will roll out next month for people who have a significant history of smoking.

28/03/2025

Celebrating over a decade of teaching surgeons and surgical trainees the value of evidence to guide their opinions and practice. I was recently asked to write an article for the RACS Surgical News publication, aiming to inspire more participants to this valuable course.

“It would have taken me a lifetime to understand some of the concepts that were taught. Invaluable.” (CLEAR participant feedback)

27/10/2024

New polling commissioned by Q+A reveals Australians want a massive expansion to Medicare, as alarming volumes of people avoid treatment due to the costs.

15/09/2024

The CLEAR course of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons teaches critical appraisal to training surgeons so that they can use evidence to guide their clinical practice. As Chair of CLEAR it was a real pleasure to lead the course in Wellington NZ recently to a packed audience and we look forward to our September course next week!

13/02/2024

The financial costs of healthcare are a real concern for most people. The reality is that surgery is free in public hospitals and the typical costs in private (charged by the insurer, or assistant, or anaesthetist for example) should be low. Check out this great Cost Finder website now available - here showing Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery as an example.

A tool to find and understand costs for medical specialist services across Australia

04/11/2023

Did you know that more than 14,700 people are estimated to be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023?

Regardless of smoking status, all Australians with lung cancer need support.

Lung cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, and it is estimated that one in 20 people will be diagnosed by the time they are 85.

We're here for all Australians affected by cancer on 13 11 20, so please give our cancer nurses a call for emotional and practical support 💛

30/11/2021

What a disgrace. Bullying of doctors by doctors continues unchecked, and the majority are too scared to report it in their workplace.

Growing numbers of overworked, exhausted training doctors fear they will make mistakes if public hospitals do not overhaul working conditions.

03/11/2020

Very pleased to see this change aiming at stopping the false reporting of 'patient safety' concerns "to protect commercial interests and/or cause harm to another health practitioner".

The Medical Board of Australia has updated its Good Medical Practice – A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia, which came into effect on 1 October 2020.

01/11/2020

10/10/2020

Doing my first emergency chest opening while filmed for television was certainly intense! So proud to see the teamwork, communication, and performance under pressure from all involved that night. Jelal Edmonds and I still catch up now and then. Almost overwhelming to realise that such a fine young man came so close to not making it. Doctors carry so many patient stories with us, overwhelmingly positive thankfully, but this one stands out. Stay safe Lazy J, and thank you for the post.

05/06/2020

Response by Dr Byrom to The Australian

In the past 3 years, I have been the subject of a number of complaints and allegations by former business colleagues of mine, some of which were reported on in the media. Following a thorough investigation by the Health Care Complaints Commission and the Medical Council of NSW (MCNSW) of those complaints, the MCNSW found that I did not at any time represent a risk to the health or safety of the people of NSW.

I am pleased with the conclusions in the MCNSW report. Once again, my surgical results have been found to be consistent with my surgical peers. In stark contrast to the allegations made about me, the report found no evidence of a risk to the safety of my patients. In over three years of repeated allegations by my previous colleagues, the only assessors to have previously found evidence of inadequate practice were found by the MCNSW to have produced a report that was flawed and erroneous.

I am also pleased that the MCNSW found that my response to the allegations “not only met, but exceeded, what would reasonably have been expected of [Dr Byrom]”. They found that the “education [Dr Byrom] undertook allowed him to develop expertise in the areas of quality control, communication, team-work and surgical leadership far in excess of many of his peers”.

As a consequence of the complaints, in July 2019, I voluntarily chose to cease undertaking major cardio-thoracic procedures until these matters could be definitively resolved. The result of the cessation of practice while awaiting the outcome of the complaints has meant that I have now not undertaken independent major cardio-thoracic procedures for some time. The MCNSW believes, and I agree, that a period of supervised reskilling is necessary to return to full cardiothoracic surgical practice, following the RACS pathway for any practitioner who has been out of major surgical practice for this length of time.

I am committed to providing safe surgery and quality care for my patients and I welcome the very satisfactory final resolution of these allegations.