Mr Mike Clarke, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Clinical Tutor

Mike Clarke qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 1989. After undertaking a number of posts in hospitals around Edinburgh, he moved to the North East in 1993 to continue his career in surgery and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1994. His initial research interest was into factors controlling myointimal hyperplasia and led to the award of an MD by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He spent a year in Melbourne, Australia, gaining further experience before returning to complete his training in vascular surgery in Newcastle. He was appointed as Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the Freeman Hospital in 2001.

In addition to his clinical work, he is closely involved in the training of junior doctors and has been Clinical Tutor since 2003. He was responsible for the introduction of the Foundation Programme to the Trust in 2004 and sits on the Quality Management Committee of the Northern Deanery Foundation School. He maintains an interest in research and is an active member and Treasurer of the Joint Vascular Research Group. Mr Clarke is Honorary Secretary of the North of England Surgical Society, chairs the Northern Vascular Group and is regional representative of the Scottish and Northern Vascular Group.

Mr Nigel A G Jones, Consultant Vascular and General Surgeon

Mr Nigel Jones qualified MB BS &  MRCS LRCP from Guys Hospital Medical School in 1971. He worked at Pimu Hospital, Republic of Zaire 1973-4 and was awarded his FRCS (England) in January 1976. His surgical training was in St Thomas’ Hospital, Kings College Hospital and in Leeds. He received the degree of Master of Surgery, London University in 1980 for research into “The role of platelets in Peripheral Vascular Disease”.

Mr Jones works at the Northern Vascular Centre as a consultant in Vascular and General Surgery. Unlike the rest of us, he has both a Vascular and Endocrine interest , having performed 352 thyroid and parathyroid operations in last 5 years. He is a member of the Thyroid Multi-Disciplinary team and holds weekly clinics alongside, Dr Perros, an Endocrine Physician, allowing immediate referral of urgent AC3 cytology thyroid cases for surgery.

Mr Jones performs elective and emergency infrarenal abdominal aortic surgery, including stents. Also femoro-popliteal and  femoro-distal bypass surgery, thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and uncommon arterial operations for children with short limbs. He is also the liaison vascular surgeon for diabetic foot problems, visiting Ward 22 at RVI regularly to see acute foot problems. He also operates on patients with varicose veins and hernias. 

Mr Jones was Clinical Director of General Surgery (Freeman) between 1993 and 1996 and Chairman of Medical Staff Committee (Freeman) between 1996 and 1998. He was Treasurer and Trustee of the Northern Vascular Research Trust for 16 years and has been a member of the Moynihan Chirurgical Club since 1998.

Mr David Lambert, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Chairman of Specialist Training Committee for General Surgery

David Lambert is a Consultant and Lecturer at the Northern Vascular Centre (NVC) at the Freeman Hospital. He qualified from Cambridge University in 1977. He was awarded his FRCS England in 1981 and his MD, Newcastle in 1989.

The majority of Mr Lambert’s surgical training was carried out in the hospitals of the Northern Regional Health Authority.  During this training he developed a particular interest in the management of peripheral vascular disease and spent the greater part of his higher surgical training developing this field.  As well as working with vascular surgeons in Newcastle, a one year elective period was also spent working in other nationally recognised vascular centres.  He spent six months working in Leicester with Professor Peter Bell followed by a further six months on the Vascular Unit at St. Mary’s Hospital working with Miss Averil Mansfield, Mr. John Wolfe and Professor Andrew Nicolaides.  He was appointed as Consultant Vascular Surgeon to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne on the 1st July 1989.  This is the principle University teaching hospital within the City.  In April 1997 vascular services within Newcastle were amalgamated at The Northern Vascular Centre, Freeman Hospital.

He is currently chairman of the Northern Deanery Specialist Training Committee for General Surgery and a member of the Department of Health Working Groups on the Provision of Specialist Vascular Services and Vascular Coding Projects. He is also a Trustee of the Northern Vascular Research Trust.

He was Head of Department for the NVC between 1997 and 2002, Clinical Director of Surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary between 1994 and 1997 and Surgical Tutor at the Royal Victoria infirmary between 1991 and 1994. He was also on the Council of the Vascular Surgical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2000 – 2004) and a member of the Vascular Advisory Committee of the Vascular Surgical Society (1999 – 2004).

His initial research interest concerned metabolic aspects of surgery and these initial experiences led to his thesis for the degree of MD.  Currently the main thrust of his research concerns aspects of carotid artery disease, peripheral vascular disease and chronic venous disease.  In the past these have included work on pharmacological intervention both within intermittent claudication and also enhancement of graft function.  He has been involved in the study of molecular mechanisms of injury in ischaemia and reperfusion, in particular leucocyte adhesion and activation in chronic arterial and venous disease.

The NVC interest in chronic venous disorders has led to the development of a venous investigations laboratory, a particular interest being the development of non-invasive techniques in the investigations of these patients.  Mr Lambert has a particular interest in the investigation and management of patients with chronic venous insufficiency and chronic venous ulceration. 

These recent interests have resulted in a wide range of publications on surgical metabolism and aspects of peripheral vascular and chronic venous disease.  Similarly work has been presented to a number of learned societies. 

Mr Tim Lees, Clinical Director for Surgical Services and Consultant Vascular Surgeon

Mr Tim Lees has been a consultant in Newcastle since 1995 having previously trained in Manchester, Norwich, Newcastle, Sheffield and the USA. He is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He qualified from Manchester University in 1984, was awarded his FRCS England in 1989 and an MD with honours from Newcastle University in 1993.

Within vascular surgery he has a particular interest in the management of varicose veins and complex venous disease. In association with his colleagues he has been at the forefront of the development of new techniques in the management of venous disease and the NVC is able to offer conventional surgery, radiofrequency ablation, laser ablation, and foam sclerotherapy for varicose vein treatment.

Mr Lees committed to audit and improving clinical outcomes, and is heavily involved in a national project to audit surgical results and to publish outcomes. He is chairman of the Audit & Research Committee of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland and co-chairs the UK carotid endarterectomy audit with Royal College of Physicians and VSGBI. He is clinical lead of vascular expert working group on coding & HRGs and secretary of the Venous Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine.

He has published widely in Vascular Surgery and has been principle supervisor of several Newcastle MD students.

Professor Gerard Stansby, Professor of Vascular Surgery

Professor Gerard Stansby qualified from Cambridge University and Addenbrooke’s Hospital in 1982. He carried out many junior training posts in Cambridge and the East Anglian area before moving to the Royal Free Hospital as Registrar and subsequently Lecturer in Surgery. In 1993, he went to St Mary’s Hospital in London as a Senior Clinical Vascular Fellow and, in 1994, became Senior Lecturer in General & Vascular Surgery at St Mary’s Hospital and Imperial College, London. In January 2000, he obtained his current position of Professor of Vascular Surgery at the Freeman Hospital, University of Newcastle.

Professor Stansby is the author of more than 150 scientific articles, books and book chapters relating to vascular surgery. His special interests include platelet–blood vessel wall and vascular risk factors. He is co-chair of the TARGET-PAD group, which aims to improve the profile and understanding of PAD (peripheral arterial disease) in the UK.

Mr Mike Wyatt, Consultant Vascular Surgeon / Head of Department

Mike Wyatt graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1982. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1987 and was awarded an MD by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1993. He trained in surgery at Bristol, Plymouth, Exeter and St. Mary's, Paddington and was appointed as a Consultant in Vascular Surgery at the Freeman Hospital, in 1994. He was awarded a Hunterian Professorship by the Royal College of Surgeons in 1992 and a Personal Readership in Arterial Surgery by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2005.

Mr Wyatt is also a member of the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) in General Surgery and is the SAC Liaison Member to East Anglia. He sits on the surgical training committees for both the Northern and East Anglian Regions and is heavily involved with the provision of surgical training in the U.K. He sits on the Board of the Northern Academy of Postgraduate Surgery and is Chairman of the NAPS Education Committee for the Northern Region.

In his education role, he is chairman of the organising committees for the Northern Deanery MRCS Viva and Final General Surgical Fellowship courses. He was secretary (2002-6), is editorial secretary (2006-9) and is on the executive Council (2002-9) of the Society of Academic and Research Surgery. He is also a past council member of the Vascular Society.

Mr Wyatt continues to pursue both laboratory and clinically based research into vascular surgery, his primary interest involving aortic aneurysm and endovascular surgery. He is an assessor and examiner for the Intercollegiate MRCS, chairs the Jojnt Vascular Research Group, is a member of the local ethics committee and is past chairman of the Endovascular Forum of Great Britain and Ireland. He is also the Vascular Advisor for the Northern Region and is presently involved in co-ordinating the National Aneurysm Screening Programme for the Northern Region.

Over the last 12 years, he has edited three textbooks and written over 100 book chapters and peer reviewed papers. He is on the Council of the British Journal of Surgery, has been principle supervisor for five MD students. He has examined theses at 7 British and Irish Universities and is the External Examiner for MB for the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Penang Medical College and Imperial College, London. He also examines for the European Board Examinations in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.