Dr Broadhead accepts referrals for hip and knee conditions (including complex primary and revision joint replacement) and for bone and soft tissue tumours, benign and malignant, as a member of the RPA Bone & Soft Tissue Sarcoma Unit. Public and private patients are seen.

Referral pathways

HealthLink and email are the preferred pathways.

HealthLink — EDI: drbroadh
Email — reception@drmatthewbroadhead.com.au

For referrals to the RPA Bone & Soft Tissue Sarcoma service, please use the RPA online referral form: redcap.slhd.nsw.gov.au.

Fax is also accepted on (02) 9167 9040. To discuss a clinical matter directly, call the rooms on (02) 9052 1883 during office hours.

Consulting locations

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA), Camperdown — public patients
Institute of Rheumatology & Orthopaedics (IRO), Camperdown — public patients
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown — private and public patients
North Sydney Specialists, North Sydney — private and public patients
The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead — paediatric sarcoma
Harbour Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine (specialist centre rooms), Coffs Harbour

Full addresses are on the contact page.

Urgent: suspected sarcoma

The Australian guidance is clear: any patient with a suspected sarcoma should be referred early and directly to a specialised sarcoma centre, so that biopsy is planned by the unit that will treat them (ANZSA, Australian Sarcoma Management Guidelines). Features that should prompt referral include:

An unexplained soft tissue lump, particularly one that is enlarging or lies deep to the fascia
Recurrence of a previously excised soft tissue mass
Non-mechanical or night bone pain, or a destructive or aggressive-looking lesion on plain X-ray
Incidental imaging findings suspicious for a primary bone or soft tissue malignancy

Please do not arrange a biopsy before referral. Biopsy of a suspected sarcoma is a specialised procedure that shapes the definitive operation; at a specialist centre it is planned by the multidisciplinary team and performed by an interventional radiologist, so that the needle track can later be excised with the tumour. A biopsy taken through the wrong route can compromise limb-sparing surgery.

Suspected-sarcoma referrals are triaged urgently. Mark the referral clearly and call the rooms so it is expedited; cases are discussed at the RPA sarcoma multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting, and outcomes are better when treatment is delivered at a specialist unit from the outset.

What to include in a referral

Patient demographics, contact details and Medicare/health fund details
The clinical question and relevant history — duration, growth, pain, red flags
Examination findings
All imaging — reports and, where possible, access details or discs for the images themselves; repeat imaging can often be avoided
Results of any tests already performed (bloods, prior biopsy or excision histopathology if it exists)
Current medications, significant comorbidities, and anticoagulant use
Family history of cancer, where relevant, and any physical, psychological or social needs the team should know about

Hip and knee referrals

Routine referrals for arthritis and joint replacement assessment are welcome; non-operative management to date (physiotherapy, weight management, analgesia) is useful to note. Patients considering public treatment are added to the RPA waiting list after assessment; private patients can usually be seen and scheduled promptly at the locations listed on the contact page.

After referral

Correspondence is sent after each consultation. Referrers are kept informed at each significant decision point — MDT outcome, operation, discharge and follow-up. For anything urgent between letters, call the rooms.