I graduated from medical school in 1991 and completed specialist Neurosurgical training at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. I subsequently undertook Neurosurgical fellowships in spinal surgery and skull base surgery in Bristol and Manchester before starting at Southampton as a Consultant in 2006.

My accredited spinal fellowship training in the orthopaedic spinal unit in Bristol gave me a unique opportunity into the understanding of spinal pathology from both an orthopaedic and neurosurgical perspective.

My specialist interests are in spinal surgery and skull base surgery. I have considerable expertise in the surgical and non-surgical management of a wide range of routine and complex spinal conditions including neck and back pain, cervical and lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spinal stenosis, and cervical spine degenerative diseases. I perform over 250 spinal operations annually, ranging from minimal access procedures for typically common lumbar and cervical spine disc conditions to advanced procedures for spinal trauma and tumours. I also have vast experience in motion preservation surgery of the cervical and lumbar spine and surgery of the craniocervical junction. I have performed more than 75 cervical arthroplasty procedures without complications.

I am the Chairman of the Skull Base MDT. I work closely with ENT, maxillofacial surgeons and oncologists. I treat all varieties of skull base pathologies and have particular interest in endoscopic-assisted skull base surgery.

At the Wessex Neurological Centre, I am the lead for the academic programme for Neurosciences and the organiser of the Specialist Registrar’s teaching programme. I am also a member of the FRCS Neurosurgery examination writing group. I am a member of the Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC) in Neurosurgery. I have a keen interest in teaching and have been involved as a faculty member on spine teaching courses. I have a number of publications in spine and skull base surgery.