Consultant Paediatric Surgeon, Birmingham Children鈥檚 Hospital, Birmingham, UK / Lieutenant Colonel in Royal Army Medical Corps (retired)

Biography

As a children’s surgeon working at Birmingham Children’s Hospital my major interests are neonates, thoracoscopic surgery for oesophageal atresia and surgical oncology. In addition, I gained invaluable experience in major trauma from military deployments with the British Army. 

After returning from Camp Bastion, I realised as a paediatric surgeon I had a group of patients with the same physiological derangements as adults with major battlefield trauma – babies with severe necrotizing enterocolitis arrive needing an operation cold, acidotic and coagulopathic - so why not apply the same damage control surgery principles.   We published ‘Damage Control Surgery in Neonates: Lessons learned on the Battlefield’ in 2019.  Even though our operative time was less than 30 minutes we realised that to reduce time to surgery the entire pathway had to be coordinated.  We developed this pathway jointly with all the stakeholders involved in management of these babies - as the NICU/PICU nurses were just as important as the consultant surgeon (Impact of a Regional Damage Control Surgery Pathway on Time to Surgery for neonates with NEC).  We are now working to develop a national consensus on the criteria for referral of surgical NEC to reduce the inconsistencies between clinicians and centres.

Other interests include teaching major trauma surgery for children – In 2016 I set up the Newcastle ‘Paediatric Advanced Cadaveric Trauma Course (PACTS)’ which brings together surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre nurses.  It attracts candidates from all over the world including Ukraine, Palestine and Syria as well as senior trainees from UK.

Out of work I have a wife, 3 children and a dog.  My guilty pleasure is baking and the publication I am most proud of is featured on the cover of the Christmas BMJ 2014 - .

Presentation

Does time to surgery matter in Necrotising Enterocolitis? Lessons learnt from a regional Damage Control Surgery pathway for neonates with NEC

Wednesday 25 November 11.00

Contact

To register your interest or for any other enquiries please contact Georgina Holmes