About Dr Ben
INTRODUCTION
Dr Beer's passion for spinal surgery stems from his desire to improve his patients' lives through precision diagnosis, thorough patient (and treating team) education and individualised treatment.
His unique life experiences, including his best friend's spinal injury when they were teenagers, have led him to be both caring and passionate about spinal patient's conditions and their treatment.
Dr Beer's guiding purpose is to relieve his patients of their pain in the hopes of returning each one of them to a pain-free and active lifestyle.
SERVICE FOCUS
Dr Beer has spent more than a decade gaining a breadth of Orthopaedic and Spinal surgical experience and now specializes in the treatment of spinal conditions, including:
- Artificial disc replacement- cervical and lumbar
- Anterior and lateral lumbar surgery
- Keyhole spinal surgery (MISS)
- Spinal navigation
- Robotic spinal surgery
- Deformity correction
POSTGRADUATE QUALIFACTIONS
- Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in the Specialty of Orthopaedic Surgery (FRACS, 2021)
- Fellow of the Australian Orthopaedic Association (FAOrthA, 2021)
TERTIARY EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia, 2007
- Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia, 2011
AWARDS and SCHOLARSHIPS
- 2005 Semester 1 Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement
- 2005 Semester 2 Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement
- 2007 Semester 1 Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement
- 2007 Semester 2 Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement
- 2008 Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement
- 2011 Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement
- 2007-2010 Commonwealth Learning Scholarship
AHPRA REGISTRATION
Medical Board of Australia – General & Specialist (Orthopaedic Surgery) Registration
– Registration Number MED0001662850
CLINICAL APPOINTMENTS
PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS
- Staff Specialist, Spine Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedics, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Metro South Health Service
- Associate Lecturer, University of Queensland
PRIVATE HOSPITALS
Visiting Medical Officer, Orthopaedic (Spine) Surgeon, Pindara Private Hospital
MEMBERSHIPS
- Australian Orthopaedic Association (AOA)
- Australian Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons (ASOS)
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)
- Australian Medical Association (AMA)
- AO Spine
- North American Spine Society (NASS)
- International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS)
TRAINING HISTORY
Dates: 2012
Position Title: Resident Medical Officer
Facility: Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- General Medicine
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Neurosurgery
- Mental Health
- Emergency Medicine
Dates: 21st January 2013 – 14th April 2013
Position Title: Junior Registrar – Intensive Care Unit
Facility: Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Specialties:
- Burns
- Post-surgical care
- Spinal Injury
- Cardiothoracic
Dates: 2013
Position Title: Principal House Officer - Orthopaedics
Facility: Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- General Paediatric Trauma
- Paediatric Spine
- Paediatric Upper limb
- Paediatric Musculoskeletal Oncology
Dates: 2014 - 2015
Position Title: Principal House Officer - Orthopaedics
Facility: Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Musculoskeletal Oncology
- Lower limb – arthroplasty & sports knee
- Adult Spine
Dates: 2016
Position Title: Principal House Officer – Orthopaedics
Facility: Ipswich General Hospital, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Lower limb – arthroplasty & sports knee
- Upper limb
Dates: 2017
Position Title Registrar - Orthopaedics – AOA SET1
Facility Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Sports knee & shoulder
- Lower limb arthroplasty
Dates: 2018
Position Title: Registrar - Orthopaedics – AOA SET2
Facility: Gold Coast Health, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Pelvis & acetabular & complex trauma
- Lower limb arthroplasty
- Upper limb & hand
Dates: 2019
Position Title: Registrar - Orthopaedics – AOA21 Core Trainee (SET3)
Facility: Cairns Base Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Lower limb arthroplasty & Sports Knee
- Complex trauma
- Upper limb
- Spine
Dates: 3rd February 2020 – 2nd August 2020
Position Title: Registrar - Orthopaedics – AOA21 Core Trainee (SET4)
Facility: Queensland Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- General Ortho paediatrics
- Complex lower limb and hip osteotomy
Dates: 3rd August 2020 – 31st January 2021
Position Title: Registrar - Orthopaedics – AOA21 Core Trainee (SET4)
Facility: Mater Adult Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Knee – sports & arthroplasty
- Foot & ankle
- Shoulder
Dates: 1st February 2021 – 8th August 2021
Position Title: Registrar - Orthopaedics – AOA21 Core Trainee (SET5)
Facility: Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Complex lower limb arthroplasty
- Spine Trauma
Dates: 9th August 2021 – 6th February 2022
Position Title: Registrar - Orthopaedics – AOA21 Transition to Practice Trainee (SET5)
Facility: The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Terms:
- Lower limb arthroplasty including Mako Robotic Arthroplasty
Dates: 7th February 2022 – 7th August 2022
Position Title: Fellow - Orthopaedic Spine
Facility: The Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Supervisors: Dr G Askin, Dr J Albietz, Dr K Campbell, Dr A Parr, Dr D Nielsen
Focus:
- Spinal Trauma
- Spinal cord injury
- Tumour
- Adult degenerative
- Adolescent scoliosis
Dates: 8th August 2022 – 6th August 2023)
Position Title: Fellow - Orthopaedic Spine
Facility: AOA Fellowship Pindara Private Hospital, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Supervisor: Professor Matthew Scott-Young
Focus:
- Anterior approach to lumbar spine
- ALIF & TDR
- Complex Adult Spinal Deformity
VOLUNTEER and LEADERSHIP ROLES
Dates:
2011
Position Title:
Chair of Anatomy & Surgery Subcommittee of the University of Queensland Medical Society
Dates:
2020-2021
Position Title
- President of Queensland Orthopaedic Registrars Association
- Queensland representative to Australian Orthopaedic Registrars Association
SURGICAL & ANATOMY COURSES
- Applied Anatomy & Surgery Course , 2011, Brisbane, Australia
- Early Management of Severe Trauma, RACS, 2014, Brisbane, Australia
- AO Trauma Course – Basic Principles in Fracture Management, 2014, Melbourne, Australia
- Anatomy of Orthopaedic Surgical Exposure, 2015, Cairns, Australia
- Basic Surgical Skills Course, RCS, 2015, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Bone Camp, 2017, Sydney, Australia
- Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient, RACS, 2018, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane
- Training in Professional Skills, RACS, 2018, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Continuing Orthopaedic Education – Trauma, 2019, Cairns, Australia
- Australian Paediatric Orthopaedic Society Instructional Course, 2019, Noosa, Australia
- Depuy Synthes Periarticular Plating Masterclass, 2019, Sydney, Australia
- Postgraduate Orthopaedics FRCS (Tr&Orth) Revision Course, 2020, Newcastle, United Kingdom
- Australian Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction Society Annual Scientific Meeting, 2020, Melbourne, Australia
- 2nd M.O.R.E Australian Knee Symposium, 2020, Gold Coast, Australia
- Australian Hand Surgery Society Registrar Hand Surgery Review Course, 2020, Melbourne, Australia
- Stryker Argo Exeter Hip Course, 2020, Brisbane, Australia
SUBSPECIALTY COURSES & TRAINING
- Nuvasive: Supine ALIF Course, 2022, Brisbane, Australia
- LifeHealthCare: Complex Techniques via Posterior Approach to the Spine, 2022, Sydney, Australia
- Nuvasive: XLIF/Lateral Corpectomy Course, 2022, Brisbane, Australia
- Globus Medical – Excelsius Robotic Navigation, 2022, Vail, Colorado, USA
- Globus MERC: Adopting Advanced Lateral Solutions, 2023, Sydney, Australia
- AO Spine Asia Pacific Advanced Level Regional Anatomical Specimen Course, 2023, Bangkok, Thailand
CONFERENCES
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, 2013, Darwin, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Queensland Annual Scientific Meeting, 2014, Gold Coast, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, 2014, Melbourne, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Queensland Annual Scientific Meeting, 2016, Gold Coast, Australia
- Queensland Orthopaedic Registrars Association Conference, 2016, Noosa, Australia
- Queensland Orthopaedic Registrars Association Conference, 2017, Gold Coast, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Queensland Annual Scientific Meeting, 2018, Noosa, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, 2018, Perth, Australia
- Queensland Orthopaedic Registrars Association Conference, 2018, Gold Coast, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Queensland Annual Scientific Meeting, 2019, Noosa, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Registrars Association Annual Scientific Meeting, 2019, Canberra, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, 2019, Canberra, Australia
- Queensland Orthopaedic Registrars Association Conference, 2019, Maroochydore, Australia
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting, 2021, Virtual
- Australian Orthopaedic Association Queensland Annual Scientific Meeting, 2022, Noosa, Australia
OTHER COURSES
- Data Interpretation in Acute Medicine Course, 2011 , Brisbane, Australia
- Lightbox Radiology – MRI - Lower Limb Interpretation, 2013, Noosa, Australia
- Lightbox Radiology – MRI – Upper Limb Interpretation, 2013, Noosa, Australia
- Roadmap To Research, 2014, Brisbane, Australia
- Radiation Safety for Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2015, Brisbane, Australia
RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS and TEACHING
Research Title:
Use of Taylor Spatial Frames in the Management of Tibial Fractures in Children
Supervisor: Dr Geoff Donald
Facility: Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane
Publication Date:
Presented at AOA ASM 13/10/2014
Presentation: Does Image Derived Instrumentation alter early total knee arthroplasty revision rates?An AOANJRR Analysis
Meeting:
Presented at AOA ASM 8/10/2018
Facility: Perth Convention Centre
City/State:
Perth, Western Australia
Country:
Australia
Research Title: Impact of Image-Derived Instrumentation on Total Knee Arthroplasty Revision Rates: An Analysis of 83,823 Procedures from the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry
Authors:
McAuliffe, Michael J.; Beer, Benjamin R.; Hatch, Joshua J.; Crawford, Ross W.; Cuthbert, Alana; Donnelly, William J.
Publication Date: The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume, Vol. 101, No. 7, 03.04.2019, p. 580-588.
Presentation:
Queensland Children’s Hospital Orthopaedic Unit Clinical Audit
Date Presented:
13/03/2020
Facility:
Queensland Children’s Hospital
Presentation:
Cairns Base Hospital Orthopaedic Unit Clinical Audit
Date Presented:
25/10/2019
Facility:
Cairns Base Hospital
Presentation:
Cairns Base Hospital Orthopaedic Unit Clinical Audit
Date Presented:
10/05/2019
Facility:
Cairns Base Hospital
Dates:
2008 – 2011
Position Title:
Anatomy Tutor
Responsibilities:
- Casual employment as an anatomy demonstrator.
- Tutoring pre-clinical medical & allied health students and external groups in gross anatomy, histology and radiology.
Facility:
University of Queensland
City/State:
Brisbane, Queensland
Country:Australia
Dates:
2009 – 2011
Position Title:
Associate Lecturer
Responsibilities:
- Teaching anatomy, physiology and pathology of a wide range of diseases.
- Initiating and developing course material.
- Providing assistance to tutorial mentors with regard to content and approach of tutorials.
Facility:
University of Queensland
City/State:
Brisbane, Queensland
Country:
Australia
Dates:
2012 - Current
Position Title:
Associate Lecturer
Responsibilities:
Teaching Clinical medical students in hospital-based practice, through a combination of bed-side, tutorial and formal teaching.
Facility:
University of Queensland
City/State:
Brisbane, Queensland
Country:
Australia
ONGOING RESEARCH
Research Title:
Fusion Rates in Lumbar Hybrid Procedure in combination with rh_BMP2
Collaborators:
Professor Matthew Scott-Young
Facility:
Gold Coast Spine & Bond University
Research Title:
Systematic Review: Impact of Obesity on lumbar spine pathology
Collaborators:
Professor Matthew Scott-Young
Facility:
Gold Coast Spine & Bond University
SUPPORTED CHARITIES