Dr Melissa Hirth B(OT), MSc, PhD, AccHT (as awarded by the AHTA)
Accredited Hand Therapist, Melbourne Austin Hospital

Melissa completed her undergraduate OT course at La Trobe University, Melbourne in 1994, then her Master of Science (Major OT - Hand & Upper Limb Rehab.) at Curtin University, Perth in 2001. In 2021 Melissa completed her PhD at Monash University, Melbourne, undertaking her research on the ‘Relative Motion’ approach in hand therapy.

Melissa enjoys working in both private and public hand clinics. She has worked at Austin Health, for nearly 30 years, and in her own private practice alongside four plastic surgery colleagues for 25 years. She currently holds a clinical researcher role in hand therapy at Austin Health and is involved in several research projects in collaboration with the Plastics team. She is an external supervisor of a PhD candidate from Macquarie University, Sydney and a Masters student from the University of Limerick in Ireland. She juggles her work around the typical day-to-day running around of her two boys aged 5 and 6 years.

Melissa has a keen interest in acute hand injuries; particularly tendon repair and sports injuries, and has written 17 peer-reviewed published manuscripts, two book chapters, and has spoken as an invited speaker at several international and national hand surgery and therapy conferences and congresses.

Phil Griffin
MB,BS(Univ.Adel)1992, HandFellowship (Louisville) 1990, FRACS(Plas) 1992

Born and educated in Adelaide, Australia, surgical education refined by Canniesburn, Glasgow and Louisville, Kentucky, I returned to the Royal Adelaide for 2 years as Senior Registrar, before appointment to staff of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit.

A move to Flinders Medical Centre as Head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery followed in 1997, which I continued until handing over to the very capable Prof Nicola Dean. Over those years, the Unit grew and I was able to abandon sections of sub-specialty practice, and concentrate on Surgery of the Hand in all it’s so many challenging aspects. Our outpatient services continued on Mondays and Thursdays with the difficult to achieve, but the very important co-location of hand therapy and surgeons to collaboratively manage these patients. Subsequently, we were able to extend this model to the Noarlunga Health Service. Joint Clinics with the Rheumatology Unit were opportunities for continuous learning.

Surgery of the Hand has always been the most challenging specialty. Each individual presents important differences in injury, scar response, social and workplace management issues, and in their psychological reactions to pain, and physical loss.