Surgeon Gordon Thomas top surgeon at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead surgeon Gordon Thomas started his career as a 25 year old in a Himalayan hospital where medication was rationed and instruments reused.

Associate professor Gordon Thomas at The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

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The Children’s Hospital at Westmead surgeon Gordon Thomas started his career as a 25 year old in a Himalayan hospital where medication was rationed and instruments reused.

It’s a stark difference to the sophisticated equipment and wards of Westmead where the associate professor separated conjoined twins in a world first operation.

“You had to be creative because there was no money,” the Bella Vista resident said of his first job on the Indian-Nepalese border.

Humble beginnings: Associate professor Gordon Thomas.

Associate professor Gordon Thomas at The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

“We used to do things in those days that you can never do now … everything was reused, not discarded. We had to ration medication.

“But we beat the odds but … it was a good way to start in medicine. You were thrown into the deep end.”

Prof Thomas, now 54, is now the head of plastic, general and paediatric surgery at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

He and his colleagues have built a liver and kidney transplant service for children in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia and he runs clinics in places such as Orange.

In 2016 at Westmead, he performed surgery on a set of conjoined twins soon after birth — a world first because most surgeries are performed when the siblings are at least six months old.

“There’s a lot of public interest in it but it’s not much more complex than other things we do,’’ the unassuming professor said.

“It’s very well orchestrated and co-ordinated and several months of planning … before you do it. It’s exciting.”

The elation the father-of-two experiences after separating twins is the same as any operation he performs.

“When children get well you know straight away,’’ he said.

“When you do something and the children get well, they’re giggling and laughing.”

Prof Thomas was recently awarded the Humpty Dumpty Foundation’s Michelle Beets Memorial Award and received $20,000 to fund new equipment. A stark contrast to the reused tools he used at the beginning of his career.