Simon Chong is a University of Auckland graduate who received his Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Plastic Reconstructive Surgery training in Auckland, Hamilton and Melbourne. He qualified FRACS in 2014, and then spent 18 months as a fellow at Macquarie University Hospital in Sydney, pursuing subspecialty interests in hand and microsurgery. He returned to New Zealand in July 2015 to take up public
appointments at Waikato Hospital and Thames Hospital. He has been in part-time private practice since 2016, providing care to both Hamilton and the Coromandel region.

During his time, he served as Head of Department, RACS Supervisor of Training for the Waikato region, and Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Board of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery. While he completed his tenure at Te Whatu Ora Waikato in 2023, Simon remains highly active in service to his specialty. He is an elected councillor for the New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons, and serves as an examiner for the RACS Clinical Examination. During his fellowship, he was an instructor for the University of Sydney Masters of Surgery microsurgery course, and continues to teach microsurgery for the New Zealand plastic surgery training programme. He has published first author papers in high impact specialty journals including Annals of Surgery, Journal of Hand Surgery and Plastic Surgery Clinics.

Simon is married with three young children. When not working or being Dad, he can be found tinkering in his garage workshop, taking coffee too seriously, or out enjoying freedom on his bicycle.