Dr Margaret Dunkley | General Surgeon

FRACS, MBBS, BSc (BIOMED)

Laparoscopic, Colorectal, Bariatric, Breast & Skin Cancer Surgeon

Dr. Margaret Dunkley was born and raised on a dairy farm in Gippsland and after a car break down on a road trip to Darwin, found herself in Mildura and is now happy to call it home.

After completing medical school at Monash University in Melbourne, Margaret was encouraged by local Rural Surgeon, Dr Kevin Chambers, to consider a career in surgery and subsequently pursued surgical training with a commitment to practice as a rural surgeon. Margaret considers herself privileged to have received her FRACS in 2014 after completing surgical training in QLD. Whilst based in Townsville, Margaret also spent time in Darwin, Mackay, and Brisbane. This allowed a very wide clinical experience suitable to providing the very broad expertise sometimes required in a remote community.

Margaret returned to Mildura in 2015 as a junior consultant and established a busy public and private practice in General Surgery. During the next 3 years, Margaret decided that the local community would benefit from more advanced laparoscopic skills and then returned to Brisbane to complete two years of Colorectal fellowship at the Mater Hospital and QEII Jubilee Hospital in Brisbane. This was followed with further training in laparoscopic bariatric surgery on the Gold Coast and in Adelaide.

Now the Director of Surgery at Mildura Base Hospital, Margaret remains committed to improving rural surgical services. She is actively involved in the training of young surgeons, doctors and medical students whilst enjoying the wide range of practice that a rural surgical career necessitates.

Margaret is passionate about helping patients to maintain their quality of life through achieving a healthy weight. Maintaining a health BMI is now well recognizsed in preventing many of the surgical problems that Margaret manages on a day to day basis. As such Margaret is committed to providing a holistic approach to weight management for her rural patients. Margaret is very excited to be a part of the multidisciplinary AMOS team and to be able to help bring their service to the local regions.

Margaret attends Calvary Hospital Adelaide monthly for operating and consulting sessions and will continue to consult and operate in Mildura at other times.