About Dr Rob Cooper · Dr Rob Cooper, Orthopaedic Surgeon Sydney

In his own words

The right operation, for the right reasons

The right operation, done for the right reasons, is only half of a good result. The other half is the recovery, and I plan for both from the first appointment.

I trained in medicine at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, then worked my way through orthopaedics at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals before joining the Australian Orthopaedic Association training program through the Newcastle network, finishing as Senior Registrar at John Hunter Hospital and completing my fellowship examination in 2024.

I then spent 2025 in two subspecialty fellowships: a knee arthroplasty and arthroscopic ligament reconstruction fellowship in Sydney with Dr Bu Balalla and Dr David Broe, and the Stryker MAKO Clinical Hip and Knee Fellowship at the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital in Glasgow, the largest hip and knee replacement centre in the UK by volume, with Mr Nick Ohly and Mr Herv Vidacovic, focused on primary and revision joint replacement and robotic-assisted surgery.

Away from the hospital I am a former national-level athlete and state champion in athletics, a marathon runner, and a long-standing member of a CrossFit community. I know what it means to have a body that will not do what you ask of it, and what it feels like to get it back.

Credentials

Training + qualifications

Qualifications

Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Orthopaedic Surgery (fellowship examination 2024)
Master of Traumatology, University of Newcastle (2022)
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, University of Notre Dame Sydney (2015, magna cum laude)
Master of Physiotherapy, University of Sydney (2011)
Bachelor of Health Science, First-Class Honours, University of Sydney (2007)
AHPRA registration MED0002001512

Fellowship training

Stryker MAKO Clinical Hip and Knee Fellowship, Golden Jubilee University National Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland (2025): the largest hip and knee replacement centre in the UK by volume. Primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty and robotic-assisted surgery, with Mr Nick Ohly and Mr Herv Vidacovic
Sydney Knee Arthroplasty and Arthroscopic Reconstruction Fellowship (2025): knee arthroplasty and arthroscopic ligament reconstruction, with Dr Bu Balalla and Dr David Broe
Stryker MAKO certified: hip, total knee and partial knee arthroplasty (2025)

Orthopaedic training

Australian Orthopaedic Association trainee, Newcastle Training Network (2021 to 2024); Senior Registrar, John Hunter Hospital (2024)
Orthopaedic registrar and resident, Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals (2016 to 2020)
RACS Orthopaedic Principles and Basic Sciences examination (2021); General Surgical Sciences examination (2016)
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Sydney

Recovery planned

A structured rehabilitation plan is part of every surgical decision, not an afterthought

Robotic-assisted

Fellowship-trained and certified in MAKO robotic hip and knee replacement

Plain English

You will understand your condition, your options and your plan

Beyond the operating theatre

Research, teaching + community

Research + publications

Roe J, Fitzgibbon E, Salmon L, Cooper R, Pinczewski L. Five-year survival of endoscopic ACL reconstruction with live donor hamstring tendon allograft in juveniles and adolescents. American Journal of Sports Medicine
ACL reconstruction survival study presented at the Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting (2016) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting (2018)
Hunter Orthopaedic Meeting presentations: ACL reconstruction survival study (2022) and tibialis anterior tendon transfer for cock-up toe deformity (2023)
Honours thesis: the effect of resistance training on sleep patterns in athletes, University of Sydney (2007)

Teaching + leadership

Conjoint Associate Lecturer, Western Sydney University: clinical tutorial teaching to first-year medical students (2016)
Casual academic and anatomy tutor, University of Notre Dame Sydney (2015)
Organised surgical skills workshops and a lecture series for the University of Notre Dame Surgical Society, featuring local, regional and national surgeons (2013)

Continuing education

Stryker DART direct anterior approach hip cadaveric course, Melbourne (2026)
Zimmer ROSA Knee Masterclass, Brisbane (2026)
Stryker Hip and Knee MAKO cadaver course, University of Glasgow (2025)
Smith and Nephew meniscal injury management course, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane (2025)
Stryker Young Surgeon Complete Knee Bioskills course, Macquarie Hospital, Sydney (2024)
AO Trauma principles of fracture management, Melbourne (2017)

Community + sport

Former national-level athlete and state champion in athletics; sponsored team member of the NSW Institute of Sport
Marathon runner and member of CrossFit Altitude since 2016

How I practise

What you can expect from me

Surgery is never the first recommendation

Most joints I see do not need an operation yet. When yours does not, you will hear that clearly, with a rehabilitation plan that actually helps in the meantime.

Honest risks, realistic timelines

You get the real numbers and the real recovery, before you decide. Informed consent is a conversation, not a form.

Modern technique, used with judgement

Robotic-assisted joint replacement and the anterior approach are tools I have trained in thoroughly. They are used when they serve your outcome, not as a selling point.

Your GP and physio stay in the loop

Letters after every visit, protocols shared with your physiotherapist, and a team that answers the phone. Recovery is a team sport and you are the captain.

Dr Rob Cooper