I was responsible for the creation of the hand surgery department at St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery in 1989 and was the senior hand surgeon until 31 December 2019. I was also the first consultant plastic surgeon at Southend University Hospital (1989-2019) and an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria and regularly operate in the Spanish Health Service.

My current interests include all hand trauma surgery, finger reconstructive techniques, flexor and extensor tendon surgery, Dupuytren's disease, surgery for rheumatoid hand deformities, osteoarthritic joint surgery and the surgical treatment of peripheral nerve pain.

I have operated on several thousand patients over the period 1989-1990 as emergencies following hand trauma and electively in the fields of hand reconstruction, flexor and extensor tendon surgery, rheumatoid hand surgery, osteoarthritic joint surgery, Dupuytren's disease and the surgical treatment of peripheral nerve pain.

Previous managerial positions include:

• Past president of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (2005)
• Past president of the British Association of Hand Therapists (1995-1998)
• Past chairman of the Flexor Tendon Committee of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH)
• Previous examiner of the Diploma of the Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand (FESSH)

I am the past editor of the European Journal of Hand Surgery (2005-2007) and lectured yearly on Hand Surgery courses in Zurich, Switzerland (2010-2019).

I am the previous holder of the Kay-Kilner prize of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, the Pulvertaft prize of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) and the British Burns Association prize. I am the Previous Foundation Speaker in (i) Hand Surgery and in (ii) Plastic Surgery of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons, Kleinert-Kutz Professor in Louisville, USA and Visiting Hand Professor in South Africa.

I am also a:

• Regular guest speaker at FESSH and APSI and a guest speaker of the Hand Societies of Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Spain and New Zealand
• Honorary member of the Swiss Hand Society, of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India (APSI) and of the Indian Society for Surgery of the Hand (ISSH)
• And have given the Godrej oration of the APSI and the Venkataswami oration to the ISSH

Other positions and experience include:

• Open Scholar in Medicine of Oxford University
• Previous holder of a UK NHS Gold Merit Award
• Current holder of a Pioneer of Hand Surgery Award of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand
• Reviewer for the British Journal of Hand Surgery, Asia-Pacific Journal of Hand Surgery, French Journal of Hand Surgery, British Journal of Plastic Surgery and Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery