Our Anaesthetists

Special Interest Groups: 
Cardiothoracics Vascular and Perfusion
Neuro-anaesthesia
Regional Anaesthesia and Day Surgery

Associate Lecturer (Honorary)
University of Melbourne 2007

Final Examiner
Australian & New Zealand College of Anaesthetists 2009

Following a six year University of Melbourne course with clinical years St Vincents Hospital, Dr Dishan Chandrasekara was an Intern and Resident at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and was a committee member of Medical Students Society as Editor of The Gubernaculum, Social Secretary for SVH Clinical Students Society, and member of the HRH RMO Society. In 1996, he commenced the 5-year Northern Suburbs Rotational Training Scheme in Anaesthesia, rotating through predominantly Austin and HRH, but also Northern, Bendigo and Royal Childrens and Mercy Hospital for Women. In 2000 he spent his Provisional Fellowship year at Austin focusing on thoracic, cardiac and neuro-anaesthesia, then Royal Melbourne Hospital focusing on trauma and neuro-anaesthesia.

From 2001-2015, Dr Dishan Chandrasekara held a Full-Time Staff Anaesthetist position at Austin Health, an adult tertiary/quaternary referral university teaching hospital, and currently he balances a 0.5+ fractional full-time appointment with his private practice. Portfolios included: Social Coordinator, Editor Clinical Practice Guidelines/HMO Handbooks/Administration Handbooks, Intern Supervisor, HMO3 Supervisor, ANZCA Joint Supervisor of Training, ENT and PACU Liaison. He has developed much expertise in providing anaesthesia services for the following surgical units or duties: thoracics, neurosurgery, ENT, cardiac, vascular, breast, endocrine, upper gastro-intestinal, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, colorectal, orthopaedics, plastics, opthalmology, paediatrics, ECT, endoscopy/ERCP, radiology/PET/MRI, catheterisation laboratory, acute pain, pre-admission clinic and Senior-In-Charge Anaesthetist theatre coordination, for elective and emergency cases, in- and after-hours. His current clinical focus in public is on critically unwell or complex patients, including for complex procedures.

Dr Dishan Chandrasekara commenced Private Practice in 2002. His current regular private hospital sessions include providing anaesthesia for neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery and maxillofacial surgery at Cabrini Malvern, Epworth Eastern, Warringal Private, Knox Private and Sir John Monash Private. He is accredited at numerous other private hospitals and networks.

His particular clinical interests and expertise includes ultrasound in regional anaesthesia, with a sabbatical in Post-Graduate Diploma in Peri-operative and Critical Care Echocardiography in 2007,  ENT surgery and complex thoracic and neuro-anaesthesia. He also completed a recent sabbatical in Paediatric Anaesthesia at the Royal Childrens Hospital Melbourne in 2019. Academic interests include allergy in anaesthesia, teaching, training and assessment, including as a Final Examiner, giving him the privilege and responsibility of assessing future anaesthetists.