Saturday 6th March 2021 • Promotional Content


Specialist clinics Healthcare Innovations 45 Dr Tony Hammond, Rheumatologist


Dr Hammond graduated from Edinburgh, trained in Bristol, Bath and London and was appointed Consultant Physician and Rheumatologist at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Kent in 1992. He has been mainly in private practice for 10 years, but is now also providing NHS Covid-19 relief


Medical rheumatology Rheumatology deals with up to 200 rheumatic diseases. Arthritis describes this whole range of conditions, but is usually associated with degenera- tive issues like osteoarthritis and the common immune condition, rheuma- toid arthritis. Gout, systemic lupus, scleroderma, spondylitis,


vasculitis, psoriatic, ankylosing inflammatory


bowel associated arthritis, polymy- algia, temporal arteritis, osteoporosis,


Pain Pain is an unwelcome part of most rheu- matic diseases, and pain in the form of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) can be the problem in its own right. Tis condi- tion often presents to rheumatologists for treatment and to exclude under- lying conditions. Sadly, the treatment of FMS isn’t yet sophisticated. Sometimes it’s better to unpick the diagnosis into component parts — and the issues most commonly missed are complex skeletal and degenerative spinal pain, including degenerative disc pain.


infections and post-infectious diseases all fall within the remit. If you recognise these, you won’t


need to be told the impact inflam- matory immune disease can have. Fortunately, there are now many sophisticated, targeted biologic ther- apies for immune diseases, and most patients now have many options.


Interventional rheumatology Most spinal and joint pain is mechan- ical and doesn’t yield to fancy immune therapies. Painkillers give some relief, but there’s much unmet clinical need. In response, Dr Hammond has devel- oped a wide and advanced range of interventional skills to manage joint pain. He’s also a tutor in these for


Biologic and


the Spine Intervention Society. regenerative options


for tendon and joint pathologies are also increasing. My specialised combination of medical and inter- ventional skill can be very effective, though procedural medicine in skel- etal pain has come under challenge in recent years. Most often, what’s required in the


care of long-term illnesses is ready access to skilled and experienced decision-making — and Dr Hammond believes he can confidently offer that to his patients.


“Dr Hammond has developed a wide and advanced range of interventional skills to manage joint pain”


Dr Hammond


Dr Hammond is currently available for consultations at: Te London Clinic, Devonshire Place London, Te London Spine Clinic, 166 Harley St, London London Medical, 46 Marylebone High St, London. E: surgery@thelondonspineclinic


Wide-awake hernia repair


The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on NHS waiting lists has been hugely destructive, with officials predicting those waiting for non-urgent procedures and diagnostic tests will rocket to almost 10 million by the beginning of 2021


T


o cut waiting times, the NHS is now trialling fast-track surgical hubs. So here’s why


you might want to consider hernia repair under local anaesthetic. Put simply, a hernia is a combina-


tion of weakness and pressure. An organ or tissue presses through an area of weakness in the muscle or fascia. Most commonly this is in the groin, known as inguinal hernias. Factors that can increase the risk


of developing hernias include chronic coughing or constipation, obesity, pregnancy, smoking and growing older. Although it’s possible to live with a hernia, your hernia won’t heal itself. And, if it increases in size, you might start to experience pain and discomfort, a sensation of fullness and difficulty performing normal daily activities. Hernias can also be life-threat-


ening; if they become strangulated and the blood supply to the herniated tissue cut off, toxins released into the bloodstream can cause a serious infec- tion, often resulting in emergency surgery. Which is why hernia repair is such an important procedure. Under a new NHS initiative,


patients undergoing ‘low-complexity surgical procedures’ will be encour- aged to have their operation under local or regional anaesthetic. In the first stage, the focus is on cataract


removal, but hernia repair could be next as the outcomes are good. Although many patients might


expect an operation to be performed under general anaesthetic, the bene- fits of wide-awake hernia repair are manifold. As well as the potential risk of coronavirus when intubating patients for general anaesthetic, fewer precautions are needed with local anaesthetic, speeding up the surgical process for the patient. “Most hernias can be repaired


under local anaesthesia very safely,” hernia specialist Mr Alan Woodward explains. “It is rare to be turned down for hernia surgery on the grounds of having other medical conditions.” A local or regional anaesthetic


can also mean a quicker recovery and no overnight stay. Tere are fewer side effects; those under- going a general anaesthetic are at a higher risk of chest infections, vomiting and the ‘hangover effect’ of a general. Pain relief is superior and more targeted as the area of the body that’s been operated on stays numb for longer. For those wondering if it’s safe to


delay their hernia surgery until coro- navirus is a distant memory, Alan has the following advice: “Although waiting a few months for a hernia repair is unlikely to cause problems, if the wait is prolonged and the hernia


“A local or regional anaesthetic can also mean a quicker recovery and no overnight stay.”


enlarges, this could theoretically increase the risk of complications after the procedure, such as signifi- cant bruising or recurrence. It’s best to have your hernia repaired before it reaches that stage.” Mr Alan Woodward has been


director of the Cardiff Hernia Clinic, part of the Alan Woodward Surgical Group, for over 15 years. As an experi- enced hernia surgeon who undertakes complex hernia surgery, he specialises in repair under local anaesthesia for elderly patients or those not able to have general anaesthetic surgery.


MEET THE EXPERT


Karen Ruggles, medical secretary, Alan Woodward Surgical Group T: 07969043507 awsg.co.uk


Mr Alan Woodward has been director of the Cardiff Hernia Clinic, part of the Alan Woodward Surgical Group, for over 15 years. As an experienced hernia surgeon who undertakes complex hernia surgery, he specialises in repair under local anaesthesia for elderly patients or those not able to have general anaesthetic surgery.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48