Meet the specialist plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon helping Highlanders make the most of their lives and looks
We’re always impressed with the huge amount of study and training medical specialists complete, and when Dr Adrian Sjarif talked us through his own training and experience, we nearly fell off our chairs.
It’s a committed and driven person that dedicates a third of their life to that, culminating in receiving his Fellowship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and a year working at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York.
And that’s what impressed us most about Adrian when we sat down and chatted to him at his new clinic in Bowral.
The dedication to his craft.
That makes for one highly experienced surgeon and an awesome option for locals looking for help in this area.
We caught up with Adrian at his new space on Bowral Street, just after he and his wife and four kids moved to the Highlands.
Here’s our chat!
1 :: Let’s start at the beginning….was becoming a specialist plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon something you always wanted to do? How did you get into this field?
It all started with my Dad.
He was a GP – he’s retired now – and he loved his work.
I would come home from school and spend time in the clinic with him.
I’d see how he interacted with patients and the difference he would make to their lives with his knowledge and his manner, so I thought yep….medicine is where I want to head to.
2 :: And you’ve completed an extensive amount of study and training to be at this point of your career, haven’t you?
It’s about 12 years all up!
I started with a Bachelor’s Degree in Anatomical Science at the University of NSW then got an honours degree in medicine and surgery from Sydney University before working as an intern at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
I followed that with a year-long residency at Wollongong Hospital, which I loved.
I really enjoyed that area and being out of Sydney, although I ended up going back to St George Hospital for more training before taking a year off.
I did a Masters Degree in Surgery, also from Sydney University and then started plastics training in 2009.
3 :: That’s a LOT. You spent some time in New York too.
I completed a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, which is a big hospital in the centre of Manhattan.
We uprooted the family and lived in New York for twelve months, which was a great experience.
I did a lot of cancer reconstruction surgery – breast reconstruction, head and neck surgery – and learnt so much from working in a world class medical environment.
4 :: What actually piqued your interest in plastic surgery?
I always knew I wanted to be a surgeon but not what I was going to specialise in.
In the last year of med school, you put forward what your preferences are for the internship you’ll be completing the following year and I actually chose cardiac surgery.
But I didn’t get it.
Plastics was my second choice so I did that and I really enjoyed it.
I worked in the public health system where I did a lot of reconstructions, mostly post cancer reconstructions.
I really enjoyed being part of that healing and rebuilding journey for those patients.
And of course, that was solidified for me when I spent that year in New York at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre.
You do see it all in the public system, too. I was exposed to so many types of injuries like road trauma, burns, work accidents, even a shark attack.
5 :: Yikes! So, when did you come back to Sydney?
We arrived back in Australia in 2014 where I worked in a plastic, cosmetic and reconstruction surgery practice, operating out of St George Hospital and also Wollongong Hospital.
I started my own practice and then we decided to move the family to Southern Highlands.
6 :: What was behind the move to the Highlands?
We have four children and life is busy.
They’re involved in after school activities, and Saturday sport became my wife and I battling our way through traffic across different parts of Sydney trying to get kids to their games on time….it all started to become a bit too much.
We sat down, chatted about it and I guess we both always knew that Sydney wasn’t going to be what worked for our family.
We had spent some time in Bowral and really liked the area so we looked at schools and of course, the Southern Highlands has some fantastic education options – that was one of the main reasons we moved.
And the space….having space for the kids to run around in is great.
7 :: You opened the Bowral clinic at the end of 2022 but you’ve been running your own practice for 8 years now.
That’s right, we’ll be keeping the Wollongong practice open and adding Bowral to the mix.
We’ll be operating out of both Wollongong Private Hospital and Bowral Private Hospital.
It’s exciting for me to have the opportunity to live and work in the same area.
I’m looking forward to my 5 minute commute into the practice every morning – I don’t even hit any traffic lights!
8 :: You won’t know yourself! Okay, let’s chat about the procedures you support and the way you can help locals.
Working with skin cancer patients is a big part of what we do.
We can remove skin cancers under local anaesthetic here in our Bowral clinic or if more complicated surgery is required to remove a cancer and reconstruct that area, I can do that at Bowral Private or Wollongong Private.
I’ve been doing a fair bit of revisionary surgery.
That’s where I’m treating women who have had breast procedures that have gone wrong or had implants done many years ago and they now want them removed, or there’s an issue with the implant.
Breast reductions are also common for women of all ages.
That can be life changing.
I did a breast reduction recently for a young adult.
When she first came to see me, she was slouching, she had low self esteem, there were lots of tears in the consultation – she was just so exhausted.
We did the reduction and at our 12 month check up, it was like I was seeing a completely different person.
She was excelling in every part of her life and had her self-confidence back.
It was so great to see.
9 :: So, it’s not just about aesthetics, is it?
Absolutely not. Nearly everyone that comes to see me to enhance something about themselves, whether it be their ears, nose, breasts, stomach or whatever it might be are impacted mentally and emotionally by it.
There’s also the physical impact.
For example, large breasts can cause serious back problems for many women which can be debilitating.
I’ve treated a martial arts professional who had a saddle nose deformity from all his bouts and training. It impacted the look of his nose but also led to breathing and sinus issues.
I also see a number of women who have had their babies and had their physical appearance change as a result.
They miss how their body used to look and feel, so we help them do that.
It’s not for everyone, I get that.
But it’s great to be able to offer it to people who are impacted by a change in their appearance.
And it’s not just women.
I’ve operated on many men.
One of the more common procedures for men is gynaecomastia, which most people know as man boobs.
Male breast reduction is absolutely possible and you can really see the difference in the men who have had this procedure, physically and mentally.
It’s about helping people make the most of their lives and their looks.
10 :: So apart from the traffic [or lack of it compared to Sydney], what are you most looking forward to about living and working in the Highlands?
Definitely the space.
We’ve bought an old house on a good piece of land that we’re going to start renovating, so that’s exciting.
We’re really enjoying connecting with the community.
The medical professionals I’ve already met here have been really supportive and our lovely neighbours have been so welcoming.
The future’s looking good!
Highlanders, you’ll find Dr Sjarif’s Bowral clinic at 113 Bowral Street, Bowral [just a hop, skip + jump from the hospital]. If you’re interested in finding out more information about any of the procedures, contact the rooms on 4813 7415 and head to Dr Sjarif’s website.
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