Mr Michael Galvin - Geelong Orthopaedics Group
Mr Michael Galvin specialises in lower limb surgery including foot and ankle surgery, hip and knee surgery and robotic joint replacement surgery.

Mr Galvin completed his medical training in 2007. After completing his orthopaedic training, he has undertaken Fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery with a particular interest in minimally invasive and rapid recovery sport surgery. He also performs joint replacement surgery and has a strong interest in robotic assisted joint replacement surgery.

Mr Galvin also has an interest in adult and paediatric trauma surgery and has undertaken trauma training in Montreal, Canada. Michael has a strong commitment to surgical training and is involved in training future surgeons. He operates at St John of God and Epworth Geelong, and also holds a public appointment at the University Hospital of Geelong.

Contact
Phone:
(03) 4216 5434
Hours:
MON – FRI 9-5
Admin Staff:
Sharon, Laura & Ali
Email Mr Michael Galvin

Michael completed a surgical fellowship with a particular interest in minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery. This is surgery which is made using small incisions. The advantages of this type of surgery is that is produces less soft tissue damage, less swelling and faster recovery.

Some operations that can be done minimally invasively include:

  • Bunion correction
  • Toe deformity correction
  • Ankle fusion

If this is something that interests you please let Michael know and he will be happy to discuss if your condition is suitable for this type of treatment.

Robotic assisted joint replacement surgery uses a robotic guided arm to guide the bone cuts made during surgery. This is done by using X-Rays or CT scan taken prior to surgery and input into computer software. This allows incredibly accurate and patient specific planning regarding implant position.

During the surgery a robotic arm is used to guide the bone cuts and the position of the implants. Your surgery is still performed by the surgeon, just with the added precision of a robot. For more information please contact the rooms to make an appointment with Mr Galvin.

  • MBBS (Hons) Monash University
  • Dip Surg Ant (Melbourne University)
  • FRACS (Ortho)
  • FAOrthA

The Geelong Orthopaedics Group conducts regular auditing and feedback for quality assurance. Whilst research and teaching enhance the continuing professional development of surgeons, we also have weekly meetings to review all cases performed and those upcoming at the University Hospital Geelong. We participate in monthly literature review meetings to keep up with the latest scientific studies. A monthly audit takes place to review all difficult cases. In our private practice at Geelong Orthopaedics we also track our patients results and improvements using questionnaires and measurements using a results registry. We track all our arthroplasty (joint replacement) patients via the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Registry and the Geelong St John of God joint registry. This is designed to maintain the highest quality treatments and ensure there is constant feedback and improvement.

Mr Galvin has a strong commitment to teaching both medical students and training surgeons. He has lectured for Monash and Melbourne University and is current faculty for the AO trauma course and ARGO Trauma Education Program.

Hospital Affiliations

  • University Hospital Geelong
  • Austin Hospital
  • Epworth Hospital Geelong
  • St John Of God Hospital Geelong

Prior to surgery a CT scan is taken of your knee. This generates a 3-dimensional model of the knee. This allows for very accurate planning of the position of your knee replacement. As every patient’s knee is subtly different – the implant can be placed in a position unique to your knee. This aims to more closely reproduce your knee’s function to what it was like prior to the arthritis and give you a more natural feeling knee replacement.

Figure 1 – The positioning of the knee replacement based on the 3D model of your knee
Figure 2 – Multiple points on your knee are mapped during the operation to reference your anatomy to your CT scan

During the operation trackers are placed on the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). The surface of the bones is then mapped and referenced with your CT scan. The tension in the ligaments around the knee is assessed and the final position of the implants is set to give equal tension in all the ligaments and soft tissue to give a balanced knee replacement.

Once the final position of the implants is set, the Robotic arm controls a saw blade which makes the cuts to the bone. The robot is able to control the bone saw which prevents soft tissue around the knee from being damaged.

Figure 3 – The robotic arm which controls the saw
Figure 4 – The green surface shows the planned cut of the tibia. The yellow border is the boundary for the saw blade which prevents the saw cutting beyond the bone edge, this protects the soft tissues around the knee

After the bone cuts have been performed the knee replacement is implanted and the wound is sutured closed.

Figure 5- Knee after final implantation of the components

Prior to surgery a CT scan is taken of your hip. This allows a three dimensional model of the hip to be generated. This is used the determine the size of the hip replacement components and their position to restore the normal anatomy of your hip.

Figure 6: A 3D scan of the hip allows for accurate planning of the final position of the hip replacement
Figure 7: The position of the components is planned on the 3D CT scan

X-Rays are also taken of the pelvis in both a sitting and standing position. This information is used to determine how the position of your pelvis changes between sitting and standing. This allows the computer to simulate the range of motion of your hip replacement – so adjustments can be made to reduce the risk of dislocation.

Figure 8: Simulation of the hip in both sitting and standing. This allows the hip to be checked for any impingement (touching) between the components which might lead to a dislocation. The components can be moved to positions where they do not impinge (touch).

During the operation trackers are placed on the pelvis. The surface of the hip socket is mapped which allows your bone to be reference with your CT scan.

Figure 9: Multiple points of the hip are mapped during the operation to link you bony antatomy to the 3D model from the CT scan.
Figure 10: The Robotic arm controls the position of the hip socket. It controls the preparation of the bone and the implantation of the prosthesis.

The robot arm then controls the acetabular (Hip socket) reamer and the implantation of the hip socket in the same position as planned from your CT scan. The femoral (thigh bone) component is then trialled and the commuter used to check your leg length is restored. The final components are then implanted.

Figure 11: The hip after the implantation of the components