Felix C. Behan has a wide experience in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery following his surgical training and clinical attachments in London at the St George’s, Royal Marsden and Westminster Hospitals. He has continued in this facility in Head and Neck cancer surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute where his appointment in the Head and Neck service extended from 1977 to 2014.

He was instrumental in establishing the Melanoma Unit at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, which is now part of the Department of Surgical Oncology.

He was formerly Head of Unit in the Plastic & Reconstructive Hand Surgery at the Western Hospital from 1988 where 50% of the work relates to Hand Surgery with cases numbering in the thousands totally per year.  

He was instrumental in establishing the reconstructive loco-regional flap called the Keystone Perforator Island Flap – KPIF, which has been the main reconstructive tool as an alternative to microsurgical procedures.  The first publication of this principle occurred in the ANZ Journal of Surgery in 2003 and its applications since has resulted in 20 further publications applying the principles all over the body, even in irradiated tissue. Elsevier have produced two text books on the principles of the Keystone and further publications are in preparation at present and Springer’s International have requested an Atlas to illustrate the range of KPIF applications.    

He established in this clinical record of over 3,500 flaps over 20 years.  The characteristics which are so clinically relevant in Reconstructive Surgery synopsised by the acronym P.A.C.E. – almost Pain free, satisfactory Aesthetic match, Complications of a vascular nature are extremely rare and Economically in terms of theatre time in the 2-hour timeframe compared with the microsurgical alternative. 

His full-time commitment in surgery was in the public service domain.

Current and Previous Positions held

Senior Plastic Surgeon, head of Plastic and Reconstructive and Hand Surgery Unit, Western Hospital, Gordon Street, Footscray/Sunshine campus sites from 1988 and retired in 2014.

Re-appointed to this position every 5 years from 19th march 1991 until public hospital retirement in 2014.

Since 1990 the Western has been granted an Accredited Training Post in the field of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery). This is for Plastic Registrar Training. Application for Hand Training Post as an additional training post.

Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon at The Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute from 1974 and officially appointed in 1977 until 2014.

Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, formerly under Professor Gordon Clunie and presently under Professor Peter Choong, while preparations were in hand to finalise the M.D. Postgraduate Degree in Island Flap Reconstruction. This MD thesis depends on producing the ongoing series of publications including CD-ROMS for various aspects of Plastic and Reconstructive including Hand Surgery and Melanoma techniques.

His present work commitment is in a medico-legal capacity in relation to injury, trauma and deformity resulting from industrial and motor vehicle accidents.  His focus is mainly as a Plaintiff’s opinion in relation to assessment of damage as the basis for an impairment calculation seeking compensation.

Former Projects have all been successfully included in the subsequent publications of the KPIF