Dr Peter Courtney

Consultant in Pain Medicine and Anaesthesia

After completing BSc and BMedSc degrees at Monash University, Dr Courtney graduated from medicine in 1978. Training in Anaesthesia was completed in 1985, and Dr Courtney took up a position as Anaesthetic fellow at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre, before going overseas in 1986.

After working as a locum consultant in Anaesthesia at a number of hospitals in the UK, he moved to the USA to take up a position at the Oregon Health Sciences University where he became involved in the Multidisciplinary Pain Clinic. After working in Oregon for 12 months, he moved to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, where he worked in the Pain Clinic as well as providing Anaesthesia.

After returning to Australia in 1988, Dr Courtney took up a position as Deputy Director of Anaesthesia at Western Hospital Footscray, where he established the Chronic Pain Clinic. After leaving full time public practice, Dr Courtney continued to work in the Pain Clinic at Western Hospital, and also became involved with the Pain Clinic at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as a visiting Consultant.

Currently Dr Courtney is in full time Pain practice with both public components and private components with the Melbourne Pain Group.

Dr Courtney’s current interests include use of advanced interventional techniques in the treatment of neuropathic pain conditions and visceral pain, treatment of mechanical back pain, and the use of ketamine as an adjunct to assessment of patients as well as its use in opioid reduction.

Qualifications

Medical

• MB.BS. – Monash University, Dec 1978.
• BMedSc.(Hon I) – Monash University, Dec 1978.

Postgraduate

• FFA RACS – Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Feb 1985.
• FANZCA – 1992 (By election).
• Grad Dip Musk Med – Flinders University, Apr 2002.
• FFPMANZCA – Faculty of Pain Medicine May 2003.
• Fellow Interventional Pain Practice – World Institute of Pain, Mar 2005.
• MMed(Pain) – University of Newcastle, Apr 2005.

Other

• BSc. – Monash University, 19th Apr 1974.
• Diplomate – American Academy of Pain Management 1990.

Professional Memberships

• World Institute of Pain.
• International Association for the Study of Pain.
• International Neuromodulation Society.
• Australian and New Zealand Neuromodulation Society.
• American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.

Positions

• Australian Chairman World Institute of Pain
• Co-director Melbourne Pain Group.

Additional Professional Activities and Contributions

Since 2005 I have taken part in various educational activities arranged by the major spinal cord stimulator companies. Since 2009, I have been involved in a variety of teaching workshops in Thailand, Indonesia and India.

Papers presented at meetings

COURTNEY PG
“Superior and middle cluneal nerves: An important target for stimulation in the treatment of failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS)?”
Presented at the International Neuromodulation Society Meeting London 2010.

COURTNEY PG, SMITH RER,
“Epidural Catheter Tunnelling.”
Presented at the American Society of Regional Anesthesia Annual Meeting, Boston, 1989.

Publications

COURTNEY PG, SMITH GC, DE KRETSER DM, WREFORD NGM,
“The effects of intravenously administered 6-hydroxydopamine on the hypothalamo-hypophysial-gonadal axis.”
J ANAT (Lond.) 126: 627 (1978).

SMITH GC, COURTNEY PG, DE KRETSER DM, WALKER MMcD,
“The effects of stress on the hypothalamo-hypophysial axis in 6-OHDA-treated rats.”
J ANAT (Lond.) 130: 207 (1980).

SMITH GC, COURTNEY PG, WREFORD NGM, WALKER MMcD,
“Further studies on the effects of intravenously administered 6-Hydroxydopamine on the median eminence of the rat.”
BRAIN RES 234: 101-110 (1982).

HOWARD W, COURTNEY P, LAMBERT T,
“A pilot study of iv lignocaine to attenuate the pressor response to intubation for Caesarean Section.”
ANAESTH INT CARE 17: 102 (1989).

COURTNEY PG, SMITH RER,
“Epidural Catheter Tunnelling.”
REGIONAL ANESTH 14: S90 (1989).

WRIDE SRN, SMITH RER, COURTNEY PG,
“A fatal case of pulmonary oedema in a healthy young male following naloxone administration.”
ANAESTH INT CARE 17: 374-377 (1989).

COURTNEY PG, BUJOR MA,
“Temperature and Chemical Stability. II.”
ANESTHESIOLOGY 71: 165 (I989).

SMITH RE, OLDER P, COURTNEY PG,
“The high price of "sleep".”
MED J AUST 151:418 (1989).

COURTNEY PG, SMITH RER,
“Failure of oxygen flush”
ANAESTH INT CARE 18: 576 (1990)(Let).

COLLUM CR, COURTNEY PG,
“Sciatic nerve blockade by a lateral approach to the popliteal fossa.”
ANAESTH INT CARE 21 : 236 - 237 (1993).

OLDER PO, SMITH RER, COURTNEY PG, HONE R,
“Preoperative evaluation of cardiac failure and ischaemia in elderly patients by cardiopulmonary exercise testing.”
CHEST 104 : 701 - 704 (1993).

NIMORAKIOTAKIS V., COURTNEY PG.,
“Expect the unexpected! The full pre anaesthetic check is important.”
ANAES INT CARE 29: 554-555 (2001).

COURTNEY P
“Superior and middle cluneal nerves: an important target for stimulation in the treatment of failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS).”
Neuromodulation 14:552, 2011.

COURTNEY P, ESPINET A, MITCHELL B, RUSSO M, MUIR A, VERRILLS P, DAVIS K.
“Improved Pain relief with burst spinal cord stimulation for two weeks in patients using tonic stimulation: Results from a small clinical study.”
Neuromodulation 18(5): 361-366 2015.