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Dr Mario Penta - Orthopaedics SA

Dr Mario Penta

MBBS, MS, FRACS, FAOA Orthopaedic Surgeon


Dr Mario Penta

MBBS, MS, FRACS, FAOA Orthopaedic Surgeon

Dr Mario Penta is an Orthopaedic Surgeon with a particular interest in knee surgery, sports injuries and joint replacement surgery.

Specialising in
  • Hip
  • Knee
  • Shoulder
  • Sports injuries
Placing importance on providing care from locations that are convenient to his patients, Dr Penta practises privately in metropolitan Adelaide and Murray Bridge.

After completing his basic medical training at the University of Adelaide in 1986, Dr Penta entered the Family Medicine Program, working as a GeneralPractitioner for two years before embarking on a career in orthopaedic surgery. He returned to study and was awarded the higher degree of Master of Surgery in 1996, and obtained a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1997. Dr Penta then travelled extensively in 1998, visiting centres of orthopaedic excellence in the UK, Sweden, Germany and Italy before commencing private practice. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Australian College of Surgeons and the Australian Orthopaedic Association, applying best practice by accessing and contributing to resources of these organisations.


Specialising in

  • Hip Knee Shoulder
  • Sports injuries

Consulting / Operating Locations

  • Bridge Clinic

    Orthopaedics SA

  • Memorial Medical Centre

    Orthopaedics SA

    (08) 8267 8267

Additional Information

Dr Mario Penta consults from North Adelaide and Murray Bridge, and operates at Memorial and Murray Bridge Soldiers’ Memorial hospitals, as well as Noarlunga Health Services. He also holds public appointments as a Visiting Orthopaedic Surgeon and Senior Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma at Flinders Medical Centre.

  • MBBS, University of Adelaide 1986
  • MS, University of Adelaide, 1996
  • FRACS in Orthopaedic Surgery, Adelaide, 1998
  • FAOA 2002

1976-80
Murray Bridge High School
Murray Bridge
South Australia

1981-86
Medical School
University of Adelaide
South Australia

1987
Internship
Royal Adelaide Hospital
South Australia

1988
FMP
Royal Adelaide Hospital,
South Australia

1989-90
Surgical Training
Royal Adelaide Hospital
South Australia

1991
Orthopaedic Service Registrar
Royal Adelaide Hospital
South Australia

1992
Surgical Registrar
Flinders Medical Centre
South Australia

Feb 1993-Feb 1994
Spinal Research Fellow
Royal Adelaide Hospital
South Australia

1994
Orthopaedic Registrar in Training
Royal Adelaide Hospital
South Australia

1995 (Feb-Jul)
Orthopaedic Registrar in Training
Flinders Medical Centre
South Australia

1995 (Aug-Jan)
Orthopaedic Registrar in Training
Women and Children’s Hospital
South Australia

1996 (Feb-Jul)
Orthopaedic Registrar in Training
Modbury Hospital
South Australia

1996 (Aug-Jan)
Orthopaedic Registrar in Training
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
South Australia

1997 (Feb-Jul)
Orthopaedic Registrar in Training
Flinders Medical Centre
South Australia

1997 (Aug-Jan)
Orthopaedic Registrar in Training
Royal Adelaide Hospital
South Australia

1998-Present
Private Orthopaedic Surgical Practice
Orthopaedics SA, North Adelaide

1993-97
Clinical Tutor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Trauma
Faculty of Medicine
University of Adelaide

1995-97
Clinical Associate Lecturer, School of Medicine
Faculty of Health Sciences
The Flinders University of South Australia

1998-2002
Visiting Medical Specialist
Royal Adelaide Hospital

1998-Current
Visiting Medical Specialist
Flinders Medical Centre
Repatriation General Hospital
Noarlunga Health Services

1988-89
General Practice,
Morphettville Medical Centre
Glenelg East, South Australia

1988-90
Visiting Medical Officer,
Lyell-McEwin Health Service,
Elizabeth Value, South Australia
General Practice,
Morphettville Medical Centre
South Australia

“Smooth Muscle Tumours of the Gastrointestinal Tract”
M. Penta, P. Devitt, Department of Surgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital

“Primary Duodenal Neoplasms – The Royal Adelaide Hospital Experience”
M. Penta, P. Devitt, Department of Surgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital
– A review of cases treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, 1982-90, and review of the literature

“Radial Nerve Palsy in Humeral Shaft Fracture – Is Early Exploration Justified?”
M. Penta, M. Sandow, Department of Orthopaedics, Royal Adelaide Hospital
– A review of cases treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, 1983-90, and review of the literature

“Treatment of Humeral Shaft Fractures – R.A.H. 1983-1990”
M. Penta, M. Sandow, Department of Orthopaedics, Royal Adelaide Hospital

“M.R.I. Assessment of Disc Degeneration Ten Years After Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion”
M. Penta, R. Fraser, A. Sandhu, Spinal Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital

“Allograft Intervertebral Disc Transplantation In The Sheep”
M. Penta, R. Fraser, R. Moore, Spinal Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital

“M.R.I. In Spinal Trauma”
R. Williams, Royal Cardiff Infirmary
M. Penta, Queen Elizabeth Hospital

“Magnetic Resonant Imaging Assessment of Disc Degeneration Ten Years after Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion”
Mario Penta, M.B., B.S., Avninder Sandhu, M.R.C.P., F.R.C.R. and Robert D. Fraser, M.B., B.S., M.D., F.R.A.C.S.
Spine: Volume 20, No. 6, pp 743-747, 1995

“Bilateral Synovitis in Symptomatic Unilateral Transient Synovitis of the Hip”
Stefan Ehrendorfer, Garry LeQuesne, Mario Penta, Paul Smith and Peter Cundy
Acta Orthop Scand. 67(2): 149-152, 1996

“Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Minimum Ten Year Follow-up”
Mario Penta, M.B., B.S., Robert D. Fraser, M.B., B.S., M.D., F.R.A.C.S.
Spine: October 15 Issue, 1997

“Allograft Intervertebral Disc Replacement in the Sheep”
Mario Penta, Robert Fraser, Robert Moore
Master of Surgery Thesis, 1996

1996
Awarded Best Paper by the Federal Training Committee of the Australian Orthopaedic Association.
Smith and Nephew Richards Medical Award – To present paper to the American Registrars’ Association Annual Meeting in Memphis, USA.

1997
Second Prize – 15th Annual American Orthopaedic Residents Conference, August 22-23, The Peabody Hotel, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Paper entitled “MRI Assessment of Disc Degeneration Ten Years after Lumbar Interbody Fusion”.