About Me

I deal with all trauma, from broken hips and wrists in the elderly and injuries from car accidents, to bone and joint problems such as infection.  I also undertake non-emergency elective surgery.  It is in this field that I specialise in Foot and Ankle surgery.

To become an Orthopaedic Surgeon I first had to qualify as a doctor (MBBS).  I qualified from St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London in 1994 having studied there for 6 years.  I studied for an extra year to obtain an honours degree in biomedical science BMedSci(Hons).  I also taught anatomy to medical students for a year at Guy’s Hospital in London. I then worked in several medical and surgical specialties around the country.  This gave me an excellent grounding in all aspects of medicine and I decided I wanted to be a surgeon.

As a junior surgeon I rotated through various surgical specialties in Wessex including general surgery, cardiac surgery, and accident and emergency.  I learnt basic surgical skills such as closing wounds and manipulating or fixing simple fractures of bones.  I passed a series of exams and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of London FRCS(Eng). Having tried many surgical specialties I decided I would like to be an Orthopaedic Surgeon.

I worked in Bath for a couple of years, focusing on research, and then in many of the hospitals in Wessex as an Orthopaedic Registrar.  During this time I learnt the basics of Orthopaedics such as fixing fractured bones and treating sports injuries, and the myriad of options for treating arthritis.

I studied for and passed the Trauma and Orthopaedic specialty element of the FRCS(Tr&Orth) exams. Having passed this I was entitled to become a Consultant in an NHS hospital. Before doing so I worked in the trauma unit of Harbourview Hospital in Seattle on a fellowship.  This is an extremely busy trauma unit taking multiply injured patients from all over northwest America. I also worked for a year in Brisbane, Australia, where I learnt all the very specialised techniques that I now use regularly as an Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeon.

In 2007 I was appointed as an Orthopaedic Consultant at Dorset County Hospital. After a year as a consultant I won a prestigious American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society fellowship.  This allowed me to visit several centres of excellence in midwest America to hone my foot and ankle skills, in particular ankle replacement and sports injury treatment.

I live in Dorset, close to the sea, with my wife and our three young children. My passions are kite surfing and cycling. In fact I have cycled to work, off road, every day since the Covid problems struck (well almost …).

Patients need to be fully informed about all their treatment options so that they can make the right choice for them.   I give them as much information as I can, and encourage them to research further if they wish, and talk their options through with family and friends.   An explanation of a problem and its natural history can be reassurance enough for some patients.

I believe in encouraging patients to exhaust all non-operative treatments before proceeding to surgery when appropriate.   It is sometimes a good idea to bring a friend or family member along to help with difficult decisions.  A full and frank discussion about risks and complications is imperative in the decision making process.

Recent research has shown that doctors and patients expectations of a consultation are often very different. You will be asked what you are expecting from your consultation before we meet, to avoid this unhappy situation.

I also conduct video consultations. Have a look at the video below to find out how they work.

I often speak at conferences around the country as part of my work with the Fortius Clinic. You can watch my presentation on Chronic Ankle Instability below.