Dr Nigel S. Rajaretnam

Upper GI and Endocrine Surgeon

BA, MB, BCh, BAO (Hons, Dubl), MRCS, FRACS

Dr. Rajaretnam is away on a 1 year Sabbatical in Melbourne and will return to Intus February 2026

Nigel Rajaretnam graduated with Honours from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland in 2008. He began his surgical training in Ireland, as part of the Basic Surgical Training (BST) and Basic Specialist Training (BSpT) programs. He became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2011. He then sought further training opportunities in New Zealand in 2012.

He obtained his Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2019. He undertook further post fellowship specialist training in Endocrine and Bariatric Surgery in Waikato Hospital in Hamilton in 2019. After completion of the Fellowship, he worked as a Consultant Surgeon at Waikato Hospital.

Nigel then left New Zealand in 2021 with his young family to move back to Dublin for a year for a much coveted Fellowship position. He was the Fellow in Upper GI Surgery at the National Centre for Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer at St James's Hospital, Dublin. His fellowship was focused on Surgery for Upper Gastrointestinal cancers and Interventional Endoscopy.

He was appointed as an Assistant Professor in Surgery at Trinity College, Dublin, during this Fellowship. To date - this is one of the proudest moments in Nigel’s academic career - to be back in Trinity College, contributing to the same medical school that trained him.

Nigel then returned to New Zealand in 2022 after receiving an appointment as a Consultant Surgeon with specialty interest in Upper GI Surgery and Endocrine Surgery in Dunedin Hospital. He also is a Convenor for the Advanced Learning in Medicine(ALM) Year 6 Critical Care Module at the University of Otago.

In 2025, Nigel will be away on his third fellowship at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. This fellowship will focus on minimally invasive surgery and new endoscopic techniques with a focus on Benign Upper GI and Bariatric Surgery. 

He will return in February 2026, and is excited to be able to offer these new skills to the patients of Otago and Southland.

For more information on his research projects, please see his ResearchGate profile.

Special clinical interests

  • Gastroscopy & Colonoscopy

  • General and Laparoscopic Surgery (gallbladder and hernia surgery)

  • Benign Upper GI Surgery and management (gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatus hernia, achalasia)

  • Endocrine Surgery and management (thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal gland)

  • Management of oesophageal and gastric cancer

  • Management of thyroid and adrenal cancers

Professional memberships & appointments

  • Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Gastric and Oesophageal Surgery Association(AANZGOSA)

  • Australian and New Zealand Association of Endocrine Surgeons (ANZES)

  • International Association of Endocrine Surgeons (IAES)

  • Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons(RACS)

  • Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (MRCS)

  • New Zealand Association of General Surgeons(NZAGS)

  • Endocrine Surgery Section member of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons(RACS)

  • Medicolegal Section Member of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons(RACS)

Academia

  • Nigel maintains an active interest in academic surgery, and has published papers in many peer reviewed journals. He is a peer reviewer for the World Journal of Surgical Oncology. He is a sub-investigator for the Neo-AEGIS(Neoadjuvant trial in Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus and Esophago-Gastric Junction International Study)multinational randomised controlled trial. He continues to be involved with research and is involved with international research collaboratives. For more information on his research projects , please see his ResearchGate profile (link is https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nigel-Rajaretnam )