Associate Professor James French is a specialist General surgeon who focuses on breast surgery and is the Head of Breast Surgery at the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute.

He also has a private practice run via Specialist Services. He operates at Westmead Private Hospital, Norwest Private Hospital, and Lakeview Private Hospital in Norwest. All consultations (for both public and private patients) in private rooms now take place in Suite 3 at Lakeview Private Hospital.

After completing general surgical training, James undertook 2 further fellowship years of training in breast and thyroid/parathyroid surgery. Since 2009 James has concentrated exclusively on breast surgery.

James is at the forefront of developing oncoplastic techniques for breast surgery. He offers a wide variety of options for women who are suitable for or choose to undergo breast-conserving surgery, including reduction mammoplasty (breast-conserving surgery combined with breast reduction) and multiple implant-based options (single and 2-stage procedures, with and without nipple preservation) for women who choose implant-based breast reconstruction. In addition, he maintains close ties with plastic and reconstructive colleagues for patients who choose or who are best suited to a tissue-based reconstruction.

James chairs and discusses all his breast cancer patients in a multi-disciplinary meeting, both in the public and private sectors, ensuring everyone has access to multiple specialist opinions regarding their cancer management.

As an associate clinical professor at the University of Sydney, James is also involved in teaching, from medical students to medical graduates and postgraduate surgical fellows. He has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed articles and is involved in numerous local and international clinical trials.

James is on the Medical Advisory Committee and the Board of Lakeview Private Hospital.