Dr Nicola Dean

A/Prof Nicola Dean

Head of Unit, Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Flinders Medical Centre
A/Prof, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University

A/Prof Nicola Dean is  a Specialist plastic and reconstructive surgeon whose career spans clinical leadership, high-impact surgical outcomes research, and significant contributions to national health policy. Born in Edinburgh and trained in medicine at Leeds University (UK), she developed an early passion for both reconstructive surgery and research. She migrated to Australia in 1998, completing a PhD focused on post-mastectomy breast reconstruction while raising her young family, and subsequently completed specialist training in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery in 2007.

Since then, A/Prof Dean has built and led the dedicated breast reconstruction service at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC), advancing patient-centred reconstructive care for women following breast cancer, as well as providing specialist surgery across hand surgery, skin cancer, and gender affirming care. Her work is characterised by a commitment to evidence-based practice, multidisciplinary collaboration, and improving access to reconstructive surgery for underserved groups.

A/Prof Dean’s research centres on health outcomes, breast reconstruction, mammary hypertrophy and reduction mammaplasty, patient-reported outcomes, and abdominal wall reconstruction. She is  recognised for her leadership in integrating scientific evidence into surgical practice.

A/Prof Dean’s research has directly contributed to national policy reform through the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) and Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). Notable contributions include:

• Breast Reduction Surgery Outcomes
  Her work with Dr Tamara Crittenden PhD provided key evidence supporting Medicare funding criteria for reduction mammaplasty, particularly relating to functional impairment and quality of life.
• Abdominoplasty for Post-Partum Rectus Diastasis
  Her high-quality outcomes research with Dr Siobhan Fitzpatrick was pivotal in reinstating the MBS item number for abdominoplasty for women whose pregnancies caused significant rectus diastasis, now recognised as a legitimate functional and health issue—not merely cosmetic.
• MSAC on MBS item numbers for Gender Affirming Surgery Procedures.

These contributions have had lasting national impact, shaping funding decisions, improving surgical access, and influencing national health policy for Australian women.

A/Prof Dean is an experienced higher-degree research supervisor with a strong track record of mentoring surgical trainees, research fellows, and postgraduate students. She continues to mentor doctors-in-training, junior researchers, and allied health colleagues. One of her current focuses is on measuring outcomes in gender affirming surgery and the Flinders University Research Group in Gender Affirming Surgery where she is working alongside community members with lived experience.