I am Henk Giele. I am a plastic reconstructive and hand surgeon based in Oxford, United Kingdom working at the Oxford University Hospitals Foundation NHS trust in the Reconstructive Plastic surgery and Hand surgery departments In the John Radcliffe, Oxford Childrens’, and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and the Transplant centre at the Churchill Hospital) and I also work at the Manor Nuffield Hospital. I also work as visiting consultant at the Mater Dei Hospital, Malta.

I have an appointment at University of Oxford as an Associate Professor in reconstructive plastic surgery and hand surgery. I head a research department called ORPHIC Oxford Research in Plastic surgery Hand surgery Innovation Collaboration. We have three main themes, one is transplant, another cellular therapies and the third is surgical innovation particularly clinical or surgical innovations. All are entered on rapid translation into patient care and treatment.

I schooled in Sydney and Perth, Australia, and then went to medical school at University of Western Australia. I did my internship at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH), being awarded the surgical intern of the year. I did my residency in RPH and my surgical training at RPH, SIr Charles Gairdner Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. I spent a year doing microsurgery research at the Bernard O’Brien Microsurgery Research Centre at St Vincent’s Hospital , Melbourne. I eventually submitted my thesis and got my Masters in Surgery 7 years later! After completing my plastic surgery training I did training fellowships in Oxford and Paris at L’Institute de la main. I was then due to go on a Kerry Packer funded fellowship to New York but was offered a consultant job in Oxford with the opportunity to work closely with Peter Burge, Orthopaedic hand surgeon, so I thought that was a great opportunity to increase my orthopaedic skills. Indeed it was, as I ended up spending most operating days working with orthopaedic surgeons together creatively solving difficult orthopaedic problems. I was in heaven I operated 3-4 days a week and did 2 days of clinic, so I quickly amassed my 10,000 hours of skill mastery time! This was well before European working time directive! There was at the time only 4 consultant surgeons in the plastic surgery department but over the years we have expanded and now there are 25 in the department!

I have very diverse interests from neonates to the oldies, from head to toe, from birth differences to cancers. My main fields though are peripheral nerve surgery including brachial plexus ( peripheral neurosurgeon), and reconstructive techniques in neuropathies such as tendon transfers and nerve reconstructions; hand surgery of all types and disciplines but particularly children; orthoplastics which is reconstruction of the limbs and body after orthopaedic trauma, tumours or infection; transplantation of vascularised composite tissue or allografts ( abdominal wall, face, hand, and others).

My special interest is in creative solutions to diagnose and treat difficult problems and patients. As a result, I receive patients from all over the United Kingdom and the World, most recently from Israel, Kenya, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and USA. I love cross fertilisation and team working so operate with spinal, neurological, orthopaedic, hand, plastic, and other surgeons.

Theme: Overlay by Kaira Clinical ideas becoming reality
Oxford, United Kingdom