Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon
Skip to main content Skip to side navigation

Ruth Benson imageSenior Lecturer in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery

BSc(Hons) MBChB PhD FRCS (Eng)

Email ruth.benson@otago.ac.nz

Ruth A Benson is a Vascular Surgeon and academic clinician at the University of Otago, Christchurch.

Whilst obtaining her PhD and FRCS in Vascular Surgery (Royal College of Surgeons England), she undertook training in advanced vascular and endovascular techniques in leading centres in the United Kingdom and Christchurch, New Zealand. She is an active member of regional and international vascular surgical societies including the VSAoNZ and the European Society of Vascular Surgery, for whom she is an editorial board member of their leading vascular journal, the EJVES.

Ruth is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients with vascular disease and has a research interest in conditions such as peripheral artery disease, aortic aneurysms, and venous disorders. She continues to focus and publish on her topics of interest including aneurysm screening and surgical outcomes, and is an active peer reviewer.

She is involved in curriculum development and training programmes for the University of Otago in her role as surgical convenor of the 4th-year medicine block, while supervising undergraduate and postgraduate research students, including masters' and PhD candidates. Her educational roles have included technical and professional development workshops within the university and surgical societies.

Ruth is an advocate for fostering a collaborative learning and research environments and working closely with multidisciplinary teams to ensure a comprehensive approach to surgical care and education.

Research interests

  • All major vascular conditions
  • Equalising surgical outcomes for women undergoing aortic and lower limb arterial procedures
  • Vascular access in renal failure
  • Deep venous disease and central deep venous thrombosis
  • Medical education and mentorship

Publications

Lim, E. T. A., Benson, R., & Laws, P. (2026). Prevention of deep venous thrombosis post varicose vein surgery: A survey of current clinical practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Phlebology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/02683555261424069 Journal - Research Other

Preston, L., Lyons, O., Geddes, J., McCombie, A., & Benson, R. (2026). Osteoporosis risk scores to predict increased levels of care in older patients undergoing vascular surgery. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 96(1-2), 185-191. doi: 10.1111/ans.70444 Journal - Research Article

Raajasekar, S., Roake, J., Cameron, V., Benson, R., Pilbrow, A., & Gieseg, S. (2025). Plasma total neopterin and neopterin levels are significantly elevated in stroke patients before carotid endarterectomy surgery. Pteridines, 36(1), 20250055. doi: 10.1515/pteridines-2025-0055 Journal - Research Article

Benson, R. A. (2025). A global survey of follow up Imaging after EVAR reminds us that we are still speaking different languages. EJVES Vascular Forum, 64, 197-198. doi: 10.1016/j.ejvsvf.2025.10.001 Journal - Research Other

Williams, T., Benson, R., & Lyons, O. T. (2025). Solutions to reduce inequity for women with abdominal aortic aneurysm. European Journal of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, 69(1), 166. doi: 10.1016/j.ejvs.2024.09.001 Journal - Research Other

Back to top