Dean graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1997 and went on to surgical training at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. During his residency he had the opportunity to teach Anatomy to undergraduates at the University of Melbourne, following which he travelled to the United States to Stanford University as a visiting senior lecturer in Anatomy.

Dean obtained his Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2006 and immediately went in to a fellowship position at Monash University and Southern Health. His advanced surgical training is in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, and upper gastrointestinal surgery.

Dean has worked as a consultant surgeon since 2008, and continues to work both in the private and public hospital systems. He continues to teach surgery and anatomy. His consultant positions are as a hepatobiliary / pancreatic and upper GI surgeon at Southern Health (Monash Medical Centre), and as a general surgeon at Eastern Health (Angliss hospital).

Particular interests for Dean include:

• Resectional surgery of the liver and pancreas, including the diagnostic workup of liver lesions
• Complex gall bladder surgery
• Management of cancers of the liver, pancreas and gall bladder
• Management of gastro-oesophageal reflux and hiatus hernia
• Advanced laparoscopic surgery including laparoscopic hernia surgery
• The management of diabetes and obesity, including non-surgical (diet, exercise, metabolic optimisation), endoscopic (intra-gastric balloon) and surgical (LapBand / gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass) options
• General surgery
• Endoscopy