Practising at
Mr David Rew
Consultant General and Endocrine Surgeon
MA MB MChir (Cambridge) FRCS (London)
Specialises in
Also available for:
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As a Consultant General Surgeon I have 38 years of very broad career experience in the specialist disciplines of surgery. I am very focused on safe and effective treatments and long term outcomes. In endocrine surgical and regional referral practice, I have experience of more than 1,000 thyroid and 400 parathyroid surgical procedures, with high-quality and nationally audited outcomes. Through a lifetime of surgical practice, I also have high volume experience of hernia and soft tissue surgery, most recently in practice at the NHS Treatment Centre at the Royal South Hants Hospital.
In thyroid practice, my work includes the diagnosis and treatment of surgical thyroid disorders, including benign and cancerous lumps, neck and chest goitres, Graves disease, thyroiditis and thyroglossal cysts. In parathyroid practice, my work includes the diagnosis and treatment of parathyroid disorders, primarily of parathyroid adenomas. In both thyroid and parathyroid surgery, I have a regional specialist referral practice through my outcomes.Â
Over the course of my surgical career, I have seen more than 50,000 citizens in outpatient consultations for a wide range of conditions, and I have performed more than 10,000 operations and procedures, including many endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures. In respect of my current specialist practice, I have undertaken more than 1,000 thyroid operations and 400 parathyroid operations, more than 1,000 conventional (mesh) hernia operations, and many procedures for soft tissue/skin lesions. However, risk management is the critical factor in all surgical decision making. In my practice, surgical intervention must always be approached with caution, tempered by long experience and sound judgement.
My professional focus in NHS practice has always been upon the delivery of high volume, high-quality surgical care to the communities which I serve. My independent practice is a modest adjunct to that public service, which was recognised with a National Clinical Excellence Award in 2013-14. As a senior and experienced surgeon, I provide professional leadership within the NHS Endocrine services and multidisciplinary teams at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
Over my professional career, I have been significantly involved in professional leadership at national and international level as a National Secretary to BASO-ACS (2000 to 2002) and Council Member (2008 to 2013); as an Executive Director of the ASGBI, 2012 to 2016; as Editor in Chief of the EJSO, the European Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2003 - 2009; and as a senior staff officer and professional leader in the Defence Medical Services Reserve.
My leading work for the SCOPUS citation system gives me a global overview of professional medical practice, including oversight of many surgical journals. This fascinating work has also led me to close engagement with professional communities around the world, through major programmes in advancing academic standards and publishing practices in countries as diverse as Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, Thailand and South Korea.
In addition to my clinical practice, I have a significant medicolegal practice, through which I am commissioned to examine and adjudicate complex cases across the UK and Ireland, and as far afield as St Helena. My practice is split evenly between defendants and claimants, and my commissioned work has included the GMC, Medical Defence Societies, NHS Trusts and many legal practices. This work is intellectually challenging and a very insightful form of Continuing Professional Development.
Treatment information
Some of the principal treatments carried out by Mr David Rew at Spire include:
General surgery
- Hernia surgery
- Scar revision
- Sentinel lymph node biopsy and lymph node removal
- Thyroid test
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Important information about Covid-19 tests
COVID-19 testing or antibody tests are not available as a standalone service at Spire Southampton Hospital.
Additional information
Clinical interests
General surgery
Head and neck surgery
Hernia repair surgery
Medico-legal
Parathyroid disease
Thyroid disease
Thyroid surgery
Qualification and professional memberships
MB BChir (1981) MA (1982) FRCS (1985) MChir (1991) / University of Cambridge / 1981
Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (since 1985)
Master of Surgery of the University Cambridge (since 1991)
Professional memberships
The Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI)
The British Association for Surgical Oncology- The Association for Cancer Surgery (BASO-ACS)
The Royal College of Surgeons of England
The British Association for Endocrine and Thyroid Surgery
The British Medical Association
The Strategic Advisory Team for Healthcare Technologies to the UK EPSRC (2016-2019)
Professional leadership
I am a senior member of the Breast and Endocrine Multidisciplinary Teams at University Hospital Southampton.
s the Subject Chair for Medicine on the Content Selection & Advisory Board to the SCOPUS citation system, I play an influential role in the curation and quality control of the world's academic journal output.
As a senior surgeon in the Defence Medical Services Reserve (until 2018), I was awarded the QVRM in HM The Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2015 for service in the Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan
Research and publications
As the Subject Chair for Medicine of the SCOPUS Content Advisory Board, I have direct oversight of some 8,000 medical, surgical and healthcare journals.
I am regularly invited to review submissions and to write articles for journals.
I have previously (2012 - 2016) sat on the Board of the British Journal of Surgery Society, which oversees the publication of the highly respected British Journal of Surgery.
I have a major practical research interest in the NHS Digital Transformation Programme. As the project innovation lead for a series of ground breaking developments at UHS, inter alia.
I have introduced the timeline structured UHS Lifelines Electronic Patient record (EPR) interface, which brings all e-documents and reports together on a single computer screen in a fast and highly intuitive way.
I have built and maintain a continually accruing breast cancer data system for the "whole of life" study and oversight of some 20,000 patients, treated for breast cancer in Southampton Hospitals since the 1970s.
Current NHS posts
I am a broadly trained Consultant General Surgeon at University Hospital Southampton, with regional specialist interests in the diagnosis and treatment of Thyroid and Parathyroid disorders.
Personal profile
As a Welsh boy who was schooled in the idyllic surroundings of the Brecon Beacons National Park, and as a long term member of the Southampton community of nations, I am hugely interested in contributing to a sustainable future for the increasingly crowded city and the region. I now e-cycle to work on a daily basis, and I observe with interest the impact of my new solar roof on my electricity bills.
As a citizen of Britain, of Europe and of the World, as are my three adult children, I make a modest contribution on an international basis to securing the Anglosphere across an ever-changing global community, with whose diverse citizens and representatives I enjoy many close, amicable and productive friendships.
Financial interests
Contact information
| Website | https://wessexsurgical.co.uk/ |
| Private secretary | Karen Healey |
| Private secretary telephone | 02380 764 325 ext 2325 |
| Private secretary email | Karen.HEALEY@spirehealthcare.com |