MBChB (Otago) FRACS PhD (Otago)

• Consultant Upper GI, Hepatopancreaticobiliary and Laparoscopic Surgeon
• Honorary Senior Lecturer Otago University

Kusal Wickremesekera was educated in New Zealand and went to secondary school at Scots College in Seatoun, Wellington, where in his final year he was Proxime accessit to the Dux. He completed his medical school training  in 1991 through the University of Otago. He trained in general surgery in New Zealand and obtained his FRACS in 2001.

He undertook a research degree with Professor Richard Stubbs at Wakefield Clinic, Wakefield Hospital. He completed full time laboratory and clinical research on the topic of obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and was conferred a PhD in Surgery through the University of Otago.   He subsequently went to the United Kingdom for almost 4 years to undertake further training in Upper GI, liver, and pancreatic surgery.  He was an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at Hammersmith Hospital, London and worked with Professor Robin Williamson, a pioneer in pancreatic surgery.

He was the first Upper GI Clinical Fellow at the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital, London and gained extensive experience with surgery for oesophageal and stomach cancer, and further experience in pancreatic cancer.  He was fortunate to be awarded the Paul McMaster Scholarship, a fellowship supported by the Australia and New Zealand Hepatopancreatobiliary Association (ANZHPBA) to work at the Liver and Liver Transplant Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.  This scholarship is contested throughout the Asia Pacific region, and Mr Wickremesekera was the first New Zealander to be awarded this scholarship and gained a wealth of experience in liver and pancreatic surgery and liver transplantation.

He continues with both clinical and laboratory research and supports the Wakefield Biomedical Research Unit, University of Otago.

He is active in teaching medical students at the Wellington School of Medicine where he is currently a Honorary Senior Lecturer in Surgery at the University of Otago.

He currently works as a Specialist Upper GI and Hepatobiliary Surgeon working both at Wakefield Hospital and Wellington Hospital.

He has a special interest in obesity surgery (particularly laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy), gastro-oesphageal cancer, benign tumours of the upper GI tract, cholecystectomy (gallstone disease), hiatus hernia, liver and pancreatic tumours, hydatid disease.