General Surgery
Overview
The Trust has excellent educational facilities and training opportunities including hosting the
monthly HEKSS training half days, a well-stocked library and active Education Centre. The Trust is
also home of the internationally renowned Minimal Access Training and Therapy Unit (MATTU)
which provides opportunities for senior surgical trainees not just to attend courses, but also be part
of the Faculty. Courses range from introduction to medicine for school pupils through (for example)
to basic surgical skills, ATLS and CCrISP, to masterclasses drawing international delegates. Trainees
can arrange sessions on the training rigs and can participate in simulation training at the busy and
expanding Simulation Suite. The Trust also runs 3-monthly Trust-wide educational half days.
There are subspecialty opportunities in Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery, Resectional
Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery, Resectional and Complex Benign Oesophagogastric Surgery and
Breast and Melanoma Surgery (including Oncoplastic surgery).
The Hospital’s regional Cancer Centre has a higher proportion of elective to emergency workload
compared to The Department of General Surgery which has a strong research pedigree. There are
fantastic research opportunities with current MD students working in Colorectal Surgery,
Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery and Oesophagogastric Surgery. Additionally the academic
Foundation Programme is supervised through the Oesophagogastric Unit and run jointly with the
Department of Healthcare and Ageing at the University of Surrey. The Trust is an international
leader in enhanced recovery and one of the initial pilot sites pioneering the Acute Laparotomy
Pathway. Higher surgical trainees have frequently published research undertaken at the Royal
Surrey County Hospital in high-impact journals.
Training Posts
There are 4 specialty departments within General Surgery:
Breast and Melanoma Surgery
Consultants:
Miss Tracey Irvine
Professor Graham Layer
Mr Farokh Pakzad
Miss Polly Partlett
The unit has specialist interests in Oncoplastic Surgery and is a specialist centre for Melanoma
Surgery. There are specialty clinics such as carrier clinics and plastic surgery clinics. There are
opportunities to be involved in the ongoing research projects in the department. The OSNA sentinel
node technique was pioneered here and the unit has developed the New Start Programme to teach
units on the role of sentinel status and management. There are two higher surgical trainees on the
Unit as well as a post-CCT fellowship post rotating through Plastic Surgery (East Grinstead) and
Oncology. The current Registrars have been very impressed with the level of support the Unit offers.
Oesophagogastric Surgery
Consultants:
Mr Piers Gatenby
Mr Shaun Preston
Mr Sukhpal Singh (visiting consultant from Frimley Park Hospital)
General Surgery
Mr Javed Sultan
The unit is the regional Oesophagogastric Centre for Surrey, Sussex and the surrounding region. It is
one of the leading units in the country undertaking resectional surgery as well as a tertiary service
for benign oesophagogastric pathology. The unit has one of the busiest oesophageal physiology
laboratories in the country and has a strong surgically-lead MDT and busy endoscopy practice
(including interventional endoscopy and EUS). There are two Registrar posts within the unit and one
post-CCT Fellowship post.
Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery
Consultants:
Professor Nariman Karanjia
Mr Raj Kumar
Mr Neville Menezes (visiting consultant from St Peter’s Hospital)
Miss Angela Riga
Mr Tim Worthington
The Hepatopancreaticobiliary Unit is a busy tertiary unit managing both malignancy and complex
benign cases. There are a wide range of diagnostics including surgically delivered EUS and ERCP as
well as interventional radiological procedures. There are ongoing clinical and basic science research
streams with projects successfully completed by SHOs and registrars. There are currently 2 Registrar
posts on the unit and a Senior Fellow has just been appointed.
Colorectal Surgery
Consultants:
Mr Iain Jourdan
Prof Tim Rockall
Mr Andrea Scala
Mr John Stebbing
The Colorectal Department has a strong reputation as one of the leading units for Laparoscopic
Colorectal Surgery and enhanced recovery. There is an established track record for research and
strong links with the University of Surrey. There are two Registrar posts in Colorectal Surgery.
Educational Supervision
All higher surgical trainees have a named educational supervisor and clinical supervisor. Trainees
will work for one of the four specialty teams which allows experience and supervision to be gained
from all consultants within that subspecialty. Trainees are supported during their examination
preparation for the FRCS with an excellent success rate.