Mr Mark Gaston

I graduated from Cambridge University in 1999. I completed basic surgical training in Edinburgh followed by specialist orthopaedic training as a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian. I undertook two years of specialist orthopaedic training: a one year specialist neuromuscular orthopaedic fellowship in Basel, Switzerland and a one year senior clinical fellowship in paediatric orthopaedics at RHSC, Glasgow. I was appointed as a consultant in orthopaedic surgery in NHS Lothian in 2011.

My clinical practice incorporates all aspect of orthopaedics and trauma, both upper and lower limb, for children and adolescents and a significant portion of my NHS practice is at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh (Sick Kids), where I run two specialist multidisciplinary clinics.

I also have expertise in foot and ankle surgery and knee surgery in adults and children. In private practice, I regularly assess and treat conditions of the knee, foot and ankle in adults and children and perform surgery regularly for the breadth of these sub-specialties. This includes a high volume of minimally invasive ‘keyhole’ surgery (arthroscopy). I also have specialist expertise in the treatment of the orthopaedic manifestations of other diseases, particularly neuromuscular (muscle and nerve diseases such as cerebral palsy). This includes gait improvement surgery (including complex osteotomy procedures) for the improvement of walking disorders and hip reconstruction surgery. I am the clinical specialist of the gait analysis service for the South East Scotland region and this allows a highly specialist biomechanical instrumented 3-dimensional assessment of walking patterns, including kinematics and kinetics.

The common knee, foot and ankle conditions I treat are osteochondritis dissecans, repair or removal of torn cartilage (meniscus), discoid meniscus, sports injuries, removal of loose bodies, ligament injuries, knee-cap dislocation, foot, ankle and toe deformity surgery (including bunion correction), ankle arthroscopy and the assessment and treatment of painful knee foot and ankle conditions.

I completed a PhD during orthopaedic training during which I was awarded several research grants. I have continued a strong academic interest within excess of 50 papers published in peer reviewed journals as well as invited articles and provision of peer review for three respected orthopaedic journals and NIHR. I currently lead on a Scottish national programme of surveillance for children with cerebral palsy (CPIPS) and am a member of several national committees.