DECLAN CAHILL
Royal Marsden Hospital in London
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘An incredibly talented young surgeon and one of the highest volume surgeons for prostatectomy in the country [ie, he performs a large number of operations],’ says one urologist. ‘I’ve seen him operate and he is outstanding.’
‘He pays great attention to detail and is passionate about getting good outcomes and striving to do better — he’s extremely self-critical and analyses his results, which is the only way of assessing your performance to see how you can improve it.’
‘Declan is very approachable and caring and patients love him,’ says another. ‘He is open to discussing anything with his patients: his aim is not just to do the surgery but to look after the whole person.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: The Royal Marsden Hospital (private care), London Bridge Hospital, The Princess Grace Hospital, Parkside Hospital, both in London.
PROFESSOR CHRIS EDEN
Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘He was the leading keyhole surgeon with prostatectomies — his cancer margins were one of the lowest in the country [in other words, no cancer cells were found at the edge of the removed prostate] — and has since switched to the robot,’ says one urologist.
‘He’s excellent, immensely skilled, very tidy and does a large number [high volume] of prostatectomies,’ says another.
He has pioneered retzius-sparing prostatectomy in this country —where the prostate is approached from beneath the bladder rather than above, which shows promise in providing early return of continence, although other surgeons are sceptical about the technique.
PRIVATE PRACTICE: BMI The Hampshire Clinic in Basingstoke, BMI Mount Alvernia Hospital in Guildford, London Bridge Hospital, Nuffield Health Guildford Hospital.
JIM ADSHEAD
Lister Hospital in Stevenage
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘A very high quality surgeon. Technically excellent, he’s also a very caring doctor who spends time very carefully explaining things to his patients,’ says one urologist.
According to another: ‘He has pushed the boundaries with the NeuroSAFE technique [see previous page] he brought to this country, which shows great promise controlling cancer and helping patients maintain their erectile function.’
A study is set to start shortly to see if it is cost-effective; if so, it’s likely to be taken up more widely by other centres around the country.
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Spire Harpenden Hospital.
ALAN DOHERTY
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘A keyhole surgeon who does huge numbers of prostatectomies, including nerve-sparing, and is immensely skilled and kind. Frankly, the tool — be it a robot or scalpel doesn’t matter, the outcomes do and his are very good,’ says one urologist.
From another: ‘He gathers his data meticulously, the hallmark of the best surgeons.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Birmingham Prostate Clinic, Spire Parkway and Little Aston Hospitals.
PROFESSOR NOEL CLARKE
The Christie Hospital in Manchester
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘An absolute authority and a leader in the field nationally,’ were the words of one of those who nominated him. ‘He knows his subject inside out. Not only is he a very good technician — in other words, surgeon — but he is up on the very latest in terms of the evidence from trials on treatments, anything that might potentially help his patients.’
‘An excellent opinion,’ was another comment about him.
PRIVATE PRACTICE: The Christie (private care).
PRASANNA SOORIAKUMARAN
University College Hospital in London
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: Known as PS, ‘he’s an outstanding robotic surgeon who drives clinical research in urology in this country — he has looked into surgical measures to improve continence following robot-assisted prostatectomy, because this boosts quality of life for patients,’ says one urologist. Another adds: ‘He is measured and cares deeply about getting good outcomes and also considers the whole person he is treating. One of the ones to watch.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: London Bridge Hospital, The Princess Grace Hospital in London.
CHRIS OGDEN
Royal Marsden Hospital in London
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘An excellent high volume [performs a lot of prostatectomies] surgeon who is neat and skilled,’ according to one of his peers. ‘He was one of the first to take up robot-assisted prostatectomy in this country and he gets very good results for his patients.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: BUPA Cromwell Hospital in London.
Also highly thought of…
WILLIAM CROSS
St James’s University Hospital in Leeds
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘A great surgeon with a very keen mind, good eye, who operates well and thinks sensibly.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital, Spire Leeds Hospital.
PROFESSOR NAEEM SOOMRO
Freeman Hospital in Newcastle
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘A fabulous surgeon and an all-round good egg. He leads the robotic programme in Newcastle and would make sure my relative would be well taken care of.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Nuffield Health Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital.
PAUL CATHCART
Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital in London
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘Technically extremely good, he thinks about what he does very carefully and does it very well.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: The Princess Grace Hospital in London.
BEN EDDY
Kent & Canterbury Hospital
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘Very well-trained — he honed his surgical skills with a fellowship in Australia and you’ve got to be dedicated and motivated to do this,’ says one surgeon.
‘He is focused and passionate about what he does and is well-liked by patients, and well thought of among peers,’ says another.
PRIVATE PRACTICE: London Bridge Hospital.
ANTHONY KOUPPARIS
Southmead Hospital in Bristol
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: Like Ben Eddy, he undertook a fellowship (in Vancouver — ‘one of the leading centres for prostate cancer,’ says one surgeon).
‘One of the country’s highest volume prostatectomy surgeons [he does a large number of operations],’ says another. ‘He is meticulous, measured and gets good results. He is also good at making decisions on who will benefit most from surgery.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Bristol Urology Associates, Spire Bristol Hospital, Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital.
BIJAN KHOUBEHI
Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘Put simply, he is just a really good doctor. Despite being a surgeon by training he is someone who would never operate if there were other options.’
‘Straight-talking and honest and very experienced, he looks after patients from start to finish and will see things through if there are any complications.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: London Urology Specialists, The Lister Hospital in London, The London Clinic.
NIMISH SHAH
Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘A very good, high-volume surgeon [he does a large number of operations]. I have watched him operate and he has beautiful skills and is a very balanced opinion — in other words, he will be honest about all the treatment options, not only surgical.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital, Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital.
KRISHNA NARAHARI
University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘An up and coming urologist,’ says a senior colleague who observed him. ‘I was amazed at how good he was. He has this natural aptitude and is meticulous and careful about analysing his outcomes. Monitoring your own results is the only way of examining how you are doing and where you can improve.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Spire Cardiff Hospital.
JONATHAN ANING
Freeman Hospital in Newcastle
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘He undertook a fellowship in Canada — and extra international training is invariably a sign of dedication,’ comments one.
‘I really like the way he operates and deals with patients. His approach is calm and comforting and he gets good cancer clearance margins — which is what surgeons strive for, because it means there is less of a chance of relapse.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: Mr Aning does not work privately.
PETER COOKE
New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM: ‘Excellent surgeon and a really nice, caring chap who is technically very good and works very hard, constantly trying to improve his results.’
PRIVATE PRACTICE: BMI The Priory Hospital in Birmingham, Nuffield Health Wolverhampton Hospital.