PEOPLE OF THE COAST • Dr Marc Coughlan
DR MARC COUGHLAN Simple outdoor pleasures balance a high-tech, ground-breaking career. IT WAS THANKS TO THE GREAT LIFESTYLE THE CENTRAL COAST OFFERS FAMILIES THAT NEUROSURGEON MARC COUGHLAN AND HIS WIFE, NICOLE, DECIDED THIS WAS THE BEST PLACE FOR THEM TO RAISE THEIR FAMILY OF FIVE CHILDREN. AND IT WAS BECAUSE GOSFORD PRIVATE HOSPITAL HAD BEEN PREPARED TO INVEST IN HIGH-TECH FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT THAT MADE IT THE PERFECT PLACE FOR HIM TO FOLLOW THE OTHER GREAT LOVE OF HIS LIFE: NEUROSURGERY.
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ven as a young doctor in South Africa, Marc had always been interested in the brain and spinal cord but he also loves the technological side, and being in theatre. At Gosford Private Hospital, Marc uses the technology of intraoperative CT scanning to implant artificial spacers into the spine to help patients with an array of spinal problems. ‘What’s exciting is that we are combining navigation technology with traditional operative technology,’ he says. In some cases, we can use 3D printing to tailor implants unique to the anatomy of the patient. And we also use a novel technique called “lateral access surgery” which means the surgeon goes through a keyhole in the side of the body so it’s much less invasive. It has massively reduced the recovery time for complex spinal conditions which, in turn, means we can operate more safely on patients who may previously have been considered unsuitable for surgery.’ Marc also performs other surgeries such as disc replacements which allow mobility of the affected region of the spine to be maintained. When he competes in the annual Bay to Bay Half Marathon from the Woy Woy waterfront to Gosford, Marc finds it very gratifying to compete against patients he has operated on and to witness their improved quality of life. Before moving here, Marc and his family had been coming to the Coast on weekends since arriving in Australia in 2005 from South Africa. Even though he’d done his medical training and neurosurgical specialisiation in Cape Town, he had to sit the medical exams in Australia, after which he started working with Dr Charlie
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Teo whom he had met at a medical conference years earlier. ‘I learnt a lot from him,’ says Marc. ‘Surgery is a humbling profession. You start out thinking you know a lot and then you realise it’s a continual learning curve. I still talk regularly to people overseas to discuss their techniques and experiences, and you never stop learning because technology is changing so much.’ But as Marc says, ‘It’s more than high-tech equipment. In a large hospital you get different sets of people coming and going in your operating team. But here, in a smaller place, we not only have a really good team but it’s the same team every day and this allows us to take on more complex cases.’ Marc has taken each of his older children on weekend ward rounds with him ‘so they would know what dad does.’ He thinks at least a couple of his children show traits that would make them good surgeons but, more importantly, ‘I want them to be happy and grow up to follow their dreams.’ Weekends away from work involve family outdoor activities: sports, bushwalking — ‘we have wild deer coming through our property in Avoca’ — kayaking, camping down by the Hawkesbury, horse-riding, or down at the beach. ‘I feel blessed to live and work on the Coast,’ he says. ‘The future here has so much potential. Right now I’m in the process of setting up an outreach program so that people in lessdeveloped countries can have access to neurosurgery that can, hopefully, have a positive impact on their lives. ‘… But I also want to focus on maintaining that elusive balance between family and work that challenges our profession!’