Hand & shoulder surgeon
for Gladstone
Specialist upper limb care for Gladstone and the Boyne Valley — Gladstone is a 1 hour 45 minute drive south of Rockhampton via the Bruce Highway.
From Gladstone to the rooms
Gladstone-region patients regularly travel to Rockhampton for shoulder surgery — particularly rotator cuff repair, anatomic and reverse shoulder replacement, shoulder stabilisation (Bankart and Latarjet), and capsular release for frozen shoulder. The practice also covers complex wrist and hand work — Dupuytren's surgery, microsurgical nerve and tendon repair, and distal radius fixation — where the subspecialty volume isn't available locally. The Bruce Highway run is direct, and the practice tries to anchor consults to days where the patient is already coming north for other appointments where possible.
Patients from Gladstone are commonly seen for rotator cuff repair, shoulder replacement, carpal tunnel surgery, trigger finger release, Dupuytren's surgery, thumb joint replacement and the full range of shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand surgery. Fee structure, Medicare rebates and the surgery-quote process are on the fees page.
Start with the symptom
If you haven't had a diagnosis yet, our symptom guides help narrow down what's causing the problem before your appointment.
Towns and suburbs we see patients from
Referrals reach the practice from across the Gladstone and the Boyne Valley region. Specifically:
- Gladstone
- Boyne Island
- Tannum Sands
- Calliope
- Benaraby
- Agnes Water
- Seventeen Seventy
- Mount Larcom
- Miriam Vale
If you are elsewhere in the region — please ring the practice; the catchment is not strictly defined.
Getting to The Range
The Bruce Highway runs straight from Gladstone to Rockhampton; allow two hours door-to-door including a small buffer for traffic at the Calliope range. The rooms are at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton on Ward Street, The Range.
On-site parking is available at the Mater, with a closer carpark via I-MED Radiology on Spencer Street. Full directions and a map are on the visit page.
Get directions in Google MapsDesigned around the distance
- Imaging Scans completed in Gladstone can be viewed electronically. Where pre-operative imaging is needed before the consult, the practice will arrange it in whichever city is more practical for the patient.
- Post-operative therapy Post-operative therapy is most easily coordinated with a Gladstone-based hand-therapy or physiotherapy practice, with the early intensive reviews done at the Rockhampton rooms or by telehealth where the protocol allows.
- Scheduling In-person review is preferred for Gladstone patients; telehealth post-operative review can be arranged after the first in-person review where travel is genuinely a barrier.
From Gladstone — answered
- I'm in Gladstone — should I see a local surgeon or travel to Rockhampton?
- The practice consults only at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton; there is no Gladstone clinic. Gladstone patients travel to Rockhampton because the practice's subspecialty experience — particularly shoulder arthroplasty, complex wrist work, and microsurgical hand and nerve cases — is not available locally. Visiting orthopaedic clinics in Gladstone are general orthopaedic, not upper-limb subspecialty. The Bruce Highway run is direct (about 1 hour 45 minutes), imaging is shared electronically so films don't need to travel, and post-operative review can often be coordinated by telehealth where the protocol allows.
- What shoulder operations do Gladstone patients usually have at the practice?
- Rotator cuff repair (arthroscopic) is the most common shoulder operation for Gladstone-region patients, followed by anatomic and reverse total shoulder replacement for shoulder arthritis. Shoulder stabilisation surgery — arthroscopic Bankart repair and the Latarjet procedure for higher-risk dislocators — and capsular release for frozen shoulder are next most common. Patients are referred for these procedures specifically because the subspecialty volume isn't available in Gladstone.
- How does shoulder rehab work if I'm travelling from Gladstone?
- Most shoulder operations need four to six weeks in a sling and supervised physiotherapy thereafter. The first post-operative review at six weeks is in person at the rooms in Rockhampton; subsequent reviews can often be coordinated by telehealth where the rehab protocol allows, with active rehab run by a Gladstone-based physiotherapist. The practice writes to the local physiotherapist with the post-operative protocol so the rehab continues without interruption between Rockhampton-based reviews.
- Does Dr Hirpara consult in Gladstone?
- No. Dr Hirpara consults only at the rooms at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton. Patients from Gladstone, Boyne Island, Tannum Sands, Calliope, Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy travel to Rockhampton for consultation and any subsequent surgery. The same building houses both the rooms and the operating theatres, so there is no separate hospital trip on the day of surgery.
Patients also travel from
across Central Queensland
- Rockhampton 5–15 minutes · in-town
- Yeppoon about 45 minutes east · approximately 40 km
- Emerald about 3 hours west · approximately 270 km
- Mackay about 3 hours 45 minutes north · approximately 340 km
- Bundaberg about 3 hours south · approximately 290 km
- Longreach about 7 hours west · approximately 700 km
Speak to the practice
from Gladstone
Most patients are referred by their GP. Bring the referral and any imaging you have already had — the practice will arrange the rest.
