The Academic Surgical Unit

Excellence in Surgical Research and Teaching

The Academic Surgical Unit not only brings clinical research excellence to West Cumbria, but expert teaching to the healthcare staff and students in the region.

The Unit will build research expertise and educational capacity to meet the future challenges faced by health and social care.

The Academic Surgical Unit further strengthens links between clinical practice and medical education in Cumbria by;

Developing and promoting integrated academic care
Striving for the highest standards of care
Undertaking world-class basic science & clinical research
Providing high quality teaching and training for nurses, medical students, foundation doctors and physician associates
Providing high quality CPD, professional training and academic qualifications

Current projects

Teaching

General Practitioner CPD programme
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust FY1 / FY2 & Registrar Teaching
Surgical Skills Courses for Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Nurses
UCLan School of Medicine, MBBS teaching, including suture workshops

Academic Surgical Unit Prize

The ASU awards an annual Surgical Prize in November, giving the opportunity for surgical trainees, foundation doctors, dental and veterinary surgeons to share their academic work, publications, audits and other research activities.

All abstracts will be published in the “ASU Proceedings”, ASU Journal.

To submit an entry for the 2023 Surgical Prize, please email the abstracts for submission via email to Professor Ruben Canelo.

Please submit your entry before 17 October 2023.

2022 winners

Necessity the mother of innovations: A surgical trainee’s chronicle - Dr Khalid Bhatti

Research to develop much needed laparoscopic skills using minimal resources and minimally invasive surgical skills in trainees to improve patient outcomes.

Use of Oakland score to reduce pressures on inpatient services – Dr Emily McKenzie

Research to develop a robust system for lower gastrointestinal bleeding referrals and discharge with follow up to reduce inpatient stays.

2021 winners

2020 winners

2019 winners

Award for Best Presentation: Miss Ailsa Innes, Use of Dextran 40 following Pancreas Transplantation may reduce early Inflammation and significant bleeding compared to Heparin based protocol.

Award for Best Presentation: Mr George Severs, Calcium Channels Blockers in Pancreatic cancer. Significance Survival Benefits in a Retrospective Cohort Study.

Award for FY1 Presentation: Dr Sam Tingle, Micro RNA-126 Prevents Endothelial to Mesenchymal Transition and is downregulated in Fibrosis.

2018 winners

Award for Best Presentation: Mr Jonathan Russ, City Hospital Sunderland: Review of day case rate of primary inguinal hernia repair, umbilical and hernia repair and laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Award for Best Presentation: Mr Leo Brown, North Tees Hospital: Evaluating the Effects of Surgical Subspecialisations on patients’ outcomes following emergency laparotomy.

Award for FY1 Presentation: Dr Jen Ong North Cumbria NHS Trust: Post-Radiotherapy thyroid function testing in head and neck cancer.

2017 winners

Award for Best Presentation: Jane Carter, ST3 General Surgery Registrar at Cumberland Infirmary Carlisle: A highly predictive model for diagnosis of Colorectal neoplasms using micro RNA.

Award for Best Publication: Sorena Afshar, General Surgery Registrar training in North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust: Biomarkers of colorectal cancer risk decrease 6 months after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

Completed projects

Papers

Severe cholangitis and role of immune modulators.
LNR and its role in predicting worse outcome in cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis. Annals of Emergency Surgery 2017
Raised CRP and its effectiveness in diagnosing abdominal pathology using CT abdomen. Annals of Emergency Surgery 2017
Day case surgery guidelines. Surgery-Oxford International Editions 2017
A Novel Dual-Phase Activation-Dependent Foot Switch Mechanism for Surgery Energy Devices as an Asset in Early Surgical Training: A Proof of Concept Study. Surgical Innovation 2020
World Experience on Covid 19 Patients, Who had a Positive PCR for Nasal Swap and underwent Surgical Interventions and Peritoneal Fluid Analysis for COVID-19. Clinics of Surgery 2021
Novel use of Age-Adjusted Charleston Comorbidity Index (ACCI) as a risk Stratification tool for development of postoperative SARS-COV-2 Infection in Surgical Patients- JAMC 2021
C-Reactive Protein as a Predictor of Complicated Acute Pancreatitis: Reality or a Myth? Cureus 2021
Timing of Surgery following SARS-CoV 2 infection: an International Prospective cohort study. Anaesthesia 2021
SARS-COV vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: Data from an International Prospective Cohort Study. BJS 2021
Flat Elastic Band: A Unique Material to Develop Simulated Models for Laparoscopic Suturing. Surgery Clinics 2020

Abstracts

Future projects

The ASU has a developing relationship with the Surgical Division, supporting under- and postgraduate doctors as well as nurses.

MSc Surgery

The MSc Surgery in a process of re-confirmation with view of start in 2022. The MSc Surgery is suitable for international as well as UK students, aiming to enhance their career as well as progression towards a MD or PhD degree.

Surgical Science programmes

Projects for Surgical Science developed by clinicians from the Trust as well as other ASU Faculty Members:

Cell biology in changes cause by cholangitis as pre-malignant steps in bile duct cancer.
Covid 19 Infection in peritoneal cavity in serologically positive and negative patients.
Changes of microbiota in abdominal pathology. E.g. colonic cancer, pancreatic malignancies (this is project in a join venture with Dr Jorge Garcia Lara), Scientist and Microbiologist UCLan University.
Ambulatory Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis Patients (Pilot Study in a high selected patients with close ambulatory surveillance).

Other publications in planning/writing

Pancreatitis, annual audit review
Cholecystectomies in acute Cholecystitis patients (Audit)
Tubogramme in Cholecystostomy as a Tool in HPB Surgery for assessment of associated pathology and assessment of the bile duct anatomy and pathology.
Impact of Covid 19 Infection in Cholecystectomies in terms of mortality, morbidity and long term outcome.
Cholecystectomy in Bariatric patients (Meta-Analysis). Timing and indications for surgery in obesity surgery.

Joint NHS/University appointments: Clinicians developing an academic projects.

Meet the team

Prof Ruben Canelo
Mr Julian Auckland-Lewis
Mr John Wayman
Mr Ludger Barthelmes
Mr Palipane Metta
Mr Paul Counter
Mr Ron Eifell
Mr Ioannis Mikalakkis
Mr Salman Ahmed
Mr Ashraf Elmetwalli
Mr Luis Navarro Garzon
Miss Ayesha Anwar
Mr Jaz Mom
Miss Nenna Randhawa- RVI-Newcastle
Samir Bagasrawala- GI & Bariatric Surgeon
Dr Ashish Ghughe - Plastic Surgeon
Dr Muffazal Lakdawala - Bariatric & Upper Gi Surgeon
Harsh Sheth - GI & Bariatric Surgeon
Imran Hamzawala - Robotics Oncogynaecologist
Ashraf Etmetwally - Upper GI & General Surgeon

Junior ASU Faculty Members

Ahmed Hammouda
Badreldin Mohammed Elbagir Mohammed
Tamer Mohammed

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