Spine Unit

The spinal surgery unit has specialist expertise in treating children with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine as well as spinal fractures and complex cancer surgery. The unit has published several papers investigating the anatomy of the spine and how treatments can be improved. The unit is involved in several national trials investigating how effective treatments are for spinal conditions. It one of the first spinal units in the country to use magnetic growing rods to treat scoliosis, eliminating the need for multiple operations as the child grows to lengthen the rods. Innovative cancer treatments involve using carbon fibre rods allowing better access to the spine for radiotherapy treatments. The unit will be installing a state of the art EOS machine to allow low dose imaging of the whole body for scoliosis, reducing the exposure to radiation for patients, and a new CT scanner which allows 3-dimensional image acquisition during surgery.

Foot & Ankle

The foot and ankle unit takes specialist referrals from around the South of England. They have participated in the International CARTIVA study comparing biological implants to joint fusion in hallux rigidus allowing patients with a stiff toe to walk normally again.

Arthroplasty  Unit

The Complex Arthroplasty Unit has become a regional centre for hip and knee replacement in complex cases including haemophilia, sickle cell, transplant and lymphoedema. The consultants also specialise in the treatment of failed hip and knee replacements, particularly those as a result of infection and significant bone loss. The unit has a well established multidisciplinary meeting for the co-ordination of complex cases. The team are involved in national studies involving new hip replacement implants and have published and presented multiple papers on the techniques and outcomes of complex hip and knee reconstruction. They also have a dedicated fellowship programme committed to teaching techniques related to primary and revision hip and knee surgery.The Hip Preservation Unit is a recent addition since 2015 and provides a full range of hip joint preservation procedures including hip arthroscopy and periarticular osteotomy for the treatment of young adult hip disorders and the sequelae of childhood hip problems. The unit now receives referrals from throughout the south of England and Wales, and is actively involved in research concerning diagnosis, outcomes and novel surgical techniques.

Complex Trauma Unit

The limb reconstruction unit is the tertiary referral centre for around the South of England for complex surgery. Often treating patients with infected bones or missing bone that have failed to heal, the unit has expertise in complex reconstructive surgery to try and save a limb with combined expertise of plastic surgeons and microbiology teams. The unit holds grants funding research in techniques to improve the treatment of patients with severe limb injuries and has completed research projects in open tibial fractures and outcomes following trauma.

Pelvic Surgery

The pelvic and acetabular reconstruction unit is the largest in the South of England and provides specialist services not available in other hospitals. Patients treated include those with life threatening pelvic fractures, restoring their ability to walk and return to normal activities. The unit also has a specialist interest in elderly patients with osteoporotic fractures and were one of the first in the country to offer a service of fixing the fractured pelvis and replacing the hip to allow patients to walk again. The unit is involved in several studies looking at designing new metal plates to fix pelvic fractures and using computers to plan surgery. The unit is also involved in national trials to improve the selection of patients for surgery.

Hand Unit

The Hand Unit works closely with the Plastic Surgery Hand Unit. Cutting edge treatments involve the use of Xiapex injections to treat Dupuytren’s contracture which was previously treated with surgery. Keyhole surgery is used to treat wrist disorders and surgeons have expertise in treating complex injuries from high energy wrist and hand trauma. The unit is involved in several studies looking at different aspects of upper limb care.

 

Paediatric Unit

The paediatric orthopaedic surgery unit is a regional centre for referral of complex paediatric patients. They treat babies and children born with dislocated hips, giving them the chance to walk again. They are a regional centre for treating children with infections of their bones and have close links with the infectious diseases unit. They are a referral centre for treating clubfeet from birth to skeletal maturity and a referral centre for neurodisability conditions, spina bifida and rare skeletal dysplasia and genetic disorders. The unit is also the paediatric trauma centre for the region.

The unit has a long track record of research and is involved in both trials of new treatments and those monitoring rare childhood diseases affecting bones and joints. They have been involved in national trials looking into the genetics of congenital hip dislocation, slipped upper femoral epiphysis and Perthes’ disease. They are currently researching orthopaedic manifestations of sickle cell disease, the diagnostic criteria of developmental dysplasia of the hip, and a multi-centre study of club feet and their predisposing factors.

Knee Unit

The sports knee surgery unit has developed an acute access clinic for knee injuries allowing rapid diagnosis and treatment to ensure a fast return to sports. The unit has a specialist interest in patellofemoral instability with a specialist clinic to treat patients with dislocating kneecaps or painful knees. The unit holds several grants working closely with scientists to investigate how kneecaps move to try and improve the treatment of patients and tailor surgery specifically to patients. The unit also treats young arthritic knees offering osteotomy, a treatment to re-align the bones and partial knee replacements to try and preserve function in the younger population.

Clinicians

Shoulder Unit

The shoulder unit Has three surgeons specialising in elective and trauma surgery to the Shoulder & Elbow. They work closely with 3 specialist physiotherapists and a senior fellow. The Unit is involved in the teaching of both undergraduates and postgraduate surgeons and has published extensively including a number of new surgical techniques.

More information about the Shoulder & Elbow Unit can be found here

Clinicians