Colorectal Surgery Team

Simon Buczacki is the Richard Blackwell Pharsalia Professor of Colorectal Surgery with simultaneous appointments at Oxford University Hospitals and the University of Oxford.

Simon graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2000 and then undertook his surgical training in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. During this time he carried out a PhD at the Cancer Research UK, Cambridge Institute in the laboratory of Professor Doug Winton.

Following on from his doctoral studies he obtained a highly competitive post-doctoral Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship to enable him to carry out both clinical work whilst also developing his own basic science laboratory group.

He was appointed as Honorary Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital in 2015 where he also led the Aerodigestive Programme for the Cambridge Cancer Centre.

In 2018 he was recruited to the world-famous Cambridge Stem Cell Institute as a Group Leader.

In 2020 he was appointed as the inaugural Richard Blackwell Pharsalia Professor of Colorectal Surgery at the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford.

He currently leads a research group in the Old Road Campus Research Building funded by a highly prestigious Cancer Research UK Advanced Clinician Scientist Fellowship.

He has published widely including major papers in Nature, Science and Cell Stem Cell. His current research interests focus on tumour evolution and cancer cell identity and his laboratory is investigating the relationship between intratumoral genetic heterogeneity and cell behaviour.

Simon has been an active medical teacher for over two decades, currently as a Fellow at Linacre College.

Special interests

• Management of colon and rectal cancer
• Management of small bowel neuroendocrine tumours
• Colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy
• Pilonidal disease
  

Oliver Jones undertook junior doctor training in Oxford, Glasgow, Cambridge and London, including St Marks Hospital. He undertook registrar training in the Wessex region before completing his training at the world-renowned Royal Brisbane Hospital in Australia. This gave him a unique experience in complex laparoscopic (keyhole) colorectal surgery for benign and malignant disease, offering safe surgery with improved cosmetic results and faster recovery compared to conventional surgery.

He was awarded an MD degree for his research into mechanisms of faecal continence and defecation, their disorders and treatments. His research won prizes including the BJS Prize at the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI), the Norman Tanner Prize at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) and culminated in the election as a Hunterian Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons.

Mr Jones has published a book and almost a hundred journal articles and book chapters. He is currently the Colorectal Lead for Endometriosis in Oxford (the EndoCaRe Centre Oxford). He is chairman of the Pelvic Floor Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). He is the current Clinical Director for Surgery.

Special interests

• Management of faecal incontinence, obstructed defaecation and pelvic pain
• Pelvic floor surgery, including prolapse surgery
• Surgery for haemorrhoids, fissure and fistula
• Management of colon and rectal cancer
• Minimally-invasive, laparoscopic and transanal surgery
• Surgery fissure, fistula and haemorrhoids including HALO, DG-HAL and haemorrhoidectomy
• Colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy and upper GI endoscopy
• Surgery for endometriosis where it involves the colon or rectum
  

Mr James qualified from Imperial College School of Medicine in 2003 with Distinction in Surgery. During his time in medical school, he also completed a BSc (hons) 1st Class Degree and was awarded the Huggett Prize for best BSc.

Following junior surgical training on the St Mary's Hospital Basic Surgical Rotation, Mr James completed a PhD investigating the ergonomics of robotic surgery under the supervision of Professor the Lord Darzi at the prestigious Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College, London. He subsequently undertook his higher surgical training in the Oxford Deanery. Mr James was awarded the ASGBI Gold medal for outstanding performance in the FRCS examination in 2016.

Mr James then undertook two highly prestigious world-renowned Colorectal Fellowships. The first year was spent training at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. The second year was at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Queensland, Australia.

During his Fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic, Mr James was trained in robotic colorectal surgery, advanced and recurrent rectal cancer and complex tertiary referral colorectal surgery.

Whilst in Brisbane, David gained experience in advanced minimally-invasive colorectal surgery. He has published a book chapter, numerous peer-reviewed clinical articles and has presented nationally and internationally on colorectal surgery.

Special interests

• Robotic surgery
• Colon and rectal cancer surgery
• Minimally-invasive surgery
• Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery (TAMIS)

Mr Bruce George is Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Oxford.

He qualified from St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College in 1984 and trained in general and colorectal surgery in London and Oxford. He was awarded the Moynihan Prize by the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland in 1992 and the Arris and Gale Lectureship in 1994 by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He has been the Chief Examiner in Surgery for medical student final examinations since 2017.

His major clinical interests include inflammatory bowel disease, complex abdominal fistulae and the surgical management of short bowel syndrome. He is one of the few surgeons in Europe offering continent ileostomy reconstruction.

He is President of the Kangaroo club, a patient-run association for people with ileoanal pouches and a trustee of the charity OCCTOPUS which supports education, research and new technology in colorectal diseases.

Special interests

• Crohn's disease
• Ileo-anal pouch construction for ulcerative colitis
• Continent ileostomy (Kock pouch) reconstruction
• Complex abdominal and anal fistulae
• Colorectal support to small bowel transplant team
• Proctology
• Colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy

Stephen Boyce has medical degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Newcastle upon Tyne. Most of his consequent training in surgery was in Scotland; in Glasgow and Edinburgh. He was awarded a PhD in cancer biology from Edinburgh University and a Masters in Surgical Education from Imperial College London. He undertook specialist minimally-invasive colorectal surgery Fellowships in Sydney and Brisbane.

He has been a Consultant Surgeon since 2015. His predominant interest is in minimally-invasive techniques for treating patients with rectal cancer, including robotic surgery.

Special interests

• Management of colon cancer
• Management of rectal cancer, including transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM), total mesorectal excision (TME)
• Minimally-invasive, laparoscopic, robotic and transanal surgery
• Colonoscopy

Helen Jones is a Specialty Doctor in Colorectal Surgery.

Her major area of clinical practice is proctology. She is also involved in research.

Special interests

• Surgery for haemorrhoids, fissure and fistula
• Surgery for pilonidal disease

Mr Nick Symons qualified from the University of Liverpool in 2003 with a medical degree and a MSc in Physiology. He started his surgical training in London and took time out to study patient safety and surgical outcomes at Imperial College London, culminating in a successful defence of his PhD thesis.

He completed his training in general and laparoscopic surgery at both the Royal London and Royal Free Hospitals and then undertook a fellowship at the renowned Basingstoke Peritoneal Malignancy Institute. This fellowship provided extensive experience and training in the management of locally advanced and recurrent colorectal cancer, appendix tumours, including pseudomyxoma peritonei and peritoneal mesothelioma as part of the European Peritoneal Surface Oncology Training Programme.

Mr Symons has been involved in surgical research collaboratives for many years and was the Chair of the London Surgical Research Group from 2015-2018.

He has published numerous research papers and authored the Royal College of Surgeons of England's guidelines for the management of high-risk surgical patients.

Special interests

• Locally advanced and recurrent colon and rectal cancer
• Minimally-invasive colorectal surgery
• Colorectal support for gynaecology oncology surgery and other pelvic and abdominal tumours
• General proctology including anal fistula, fissure and haemorrhoids
• Cleft-Lift procedure for pilonidal sinus disease
  

Kat Baker completed her surgical training in Bristol and Australia, with a specialist fellowship in minimally-invasive colorectal surgery at the world-renowned Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. This included training in robotic colorectal surgery, which she now offers in Oxford.

Kat completed an MD in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol, with a Royal College of Surgeons Research Fellowship. Her research investigated Aspirin's potential role as an adjunct to radiotherapy in Colorectal Cancer. For this, she led an NIHR portfolio adopted study and was awarded the Royal Society of Medicine John of Arderne Medal and the Royal College of Surgeons Rosetrees' Prize. Having completed her MD, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in New York, for which she carried out research at Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, investigating colorectal cancer outcomes.

She is a Past President of the Dukes' Club (the UK Colorectal Surgery Trainees' Society) and spent four years on The European Society of Coloproctology, Education and Training Committee, working with surgeons from across Europe. She has delivered numerous national and international oral presentations and is widely published in peer reviewed journals.

Special interests

• Minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic surgery
• Colorectal cancer
• Crohn's Disease
• Ulcerative Colitis - including robotic subtotal colectomy, proctectomy and ileo-anal pouch surgery
• General proctology - anal fissure, fistula, haemorrhoids
• Pilonidal sinus surgery
• Colonoscopy