December 19, 2023

UOW academic receives distinguished award for outstanding contributions to surgery

Associate Professor Laurencia Villalba awarded Graham Coupland Medal from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) has awarded University of Wollongong (UOW) Associate Professor Laurencia Villalba the prestigious 2023 Graham Coupland Medal for her outstanding contributions to surgery in NSW, during the recent annual RACS New South Wales Surgeons' evening.

Associate Professor Villalba is an Honorary Fellow from the Graduate School of Medicine in the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, Head of Vascular Surgery for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) and founder of the Vascular Care Centre in Wollongong. She is Wollongong’s only female vascular surgeon.

Associate Professor Villalba is passionate about providing excellence in the care of patients with arterial and venous disorders, offering the latest techniques and a comprehensive approach to improve health outcomes.

In 2018, she was selected to join the Court of Examiners, a board of high-performing surgeons who assess the competencies of candidates to ensure they are safe and competent to practice as surgeons. She is the first ever female vascular surgeon to be a part of this prestigious group.

Associate Professor Villalba said being named the 2023 Graham Coupland Medal Recipient was “an incredible honour”.

“It means a lot to me, as a regional surgeon, as a female surgeon and as an International medical graduate, it was a delightful surprise,” Associate Professor Villalba said.

“The award is for the work I have done to raise awareness, increase our understanding and improve the care of patients with Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE).”

DVT occurs when blood clots form in veins, usually deep inside the legs or in the pelvis, where they may cause symptoms like pain, tenderness, redness, or swelling of the leg.

PE occurs when a blood clot breaks off and moves through the veins to block blood vessels in the lungs. This may cause symptoms like shortness of breath, coughing up blood, chest pain, faintness, and loss of consciousness.

PE is the third leading cause of cardiovascular death in the world. It takes more lives than breast cancer, prostate cancer, AIDS and motor vehicle accidents combined, an alarming statistic that Associate Professor Villalba said has “not improved in the last 50 years”.

Associate Professor Villalba has been teaching at UOW since 2008 and has spent the last eight years researching improvements in the care of DVT and PE patients.  

She is driven to make a difference not only to the lives of her patients, but to the next generation of medical practitioners, “so that in a few years it becomes unheard of that a patient dies from pulmonary embolism”.

Working alongside Associate Professor Theresa Larkin, also from UOW’s Graduate School of Medicine, they have co-authored four publications and their medical education research on vein anatomy and clinical relevance was recently presented at the Australia New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists conference.

Together they have co-supervised nine final year medical students for their research projects, including two that have already been published, and there are several other manuscripts in preparation.

“Laurencia is an excellent educator and role model for the Doctor of Medicine students. She presents interactive clinical symposia sessions,” Associate Professor Larkin said.

“The contributions that Laurencia has made to clinical and educational research are changing medical practice and the way we teach medical students, showcasing research skills and evidence-based practice and teaching.”

Associate Professor Villalba’s advancements in vascular surgery have already saved countless lives locally and she is driven to change this across the country.

“I have helped establish a Venous Thromboembolism Service in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), for which I am the clinical lead, and developed a referral policy and a surgical technique to treat this devastating disease.

“Our results have been outstanding, with a success rate above 95%, this has encouraged many of my colleagues to start the conversation, develop services and improve health care delivery all over Australia.” 

^{Associate Professor Laurencia Villalba was awarded the prestigious 2023 Graham Coupland Medal for her outstanding contributions to surgery in NSW, pictured with her father, Professor Carlos Villalba.} 

At the NSW Surgeons event, Associate Professor Villalba delivered the prestigious Graham Coupland Lecture. Her lecture, titled The world belongs to the bold, highlighted the difficulties faced when trying to institute change and encouraged fellow clinicians to be bolder.

“It is important to never stop advocating for our patients, fight for what is right, collaborate, educate and always learn,” she said.

“You should thank the obstacles you need to face - these struggles make us better.”

Associate Professor Villalba shared incredible stories of patients surviving against all odds due to her innovative approach, and the battle to prove its worth with hospital practitioners.

Associate Professor Villalba has been invited to share her experience setting up a Venous Thromboembolism Service with the NSW surgical network across all health care districts.

“We can encourage other districts to develop a service, collaborate and increase multi-centre research in this area as well as reach equality in health care delivery across the state,” Associate Professor Villalba said.

About the Graham Coupland Medal

The annual Graham Coupland Lecture and Medal was established in 1983 to honour the memory of Graham A.E. Coupland (1934-1982) who had a distinguished career as a gastric and pediatric surgeon.

RACS is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. RACS supports the ongoing development, maintenance of expertise and lifelong learning that accompanies the surgical practice of more than 7100 surgeons and 1,300 surgical trainees and Specialist International Medical Graduates.