Professor Andre Van Rij, of Dunedin, ONZM, for services to health, particularly vascular surgery
Andre Van Rij is a consultant surgeon in vascular and general surgery, and former Clinical leader of Surgery, at Dunedin Public Hospital. He is the Ralph Barnett Professor of Surgery at the Dunedin School of Medicine of Otago University. He played a key role in establishing gastric bypass surgery for obesity within the public healthcare system in Dunedin and was the sole South Island surgeon providing this service for many years. He helped establish and direct the Otago Clinical Audit research group. He established and is director of the Otago Vascular Diagnostics research unit. He has held leadership roles with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and is the Chancellor of the Australasian College of Phlebology. Professor Van Rij helped establish the Servants Health Centre and remains the founding director.