News and Events

News and Events from the Department

Professor Tipu Aziz elected to Academy of Medical Sciences

Tipu Aziz , professor of neurosurgery, is one of six medical researchers at Oxford University to have been elected as Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences. The honour recognises outstanding contributions to the advancement of medical science, innovative application of scientific knowledge, or conspicuous service to healthcare.

Congratulations to Miss Karen Eley who won the 'Lister Centenary Medal'

The Lister Centenary Celebration Awards at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh held in February 2012

TRIG wins three prestigious prizes this year

Three members of TRIG have won various prestigious prizes this year

Literature and Medicine Seminar Series

Sponsored by Green-Templeton College

Dr Golding awarded Lifetime Achievement Medal

 

Alf Gunning 21st November 1918 - 10th August 2011

Alfred Gunning was a remarkable surgeon best known for his work on tissue heart valves

Professor Johnson appointed President of the International Pancreas and Islet Transplant Association

 

URS Conference 2011 (Balliol College, from 22-09-2011 03:00 PM to 25-09-2011 12:00 PM)

Urological Research Society's Conference

Is Surgery Scientific?

"Can surgery be submitted to the same rigorous clinical trials as drugs to ensure the right surgical procedures are being carried out? Or does the very nature of the craft make this impossible?" In a recent BBC radio programme Geoff Watts looks at the problems faced by surgeons and how they may be overcome. An interview with Peter McCulloch, from the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, is featured in this programme and relates to the IDEAL group which he has set up to promote better clinical evaluation of surgical interventions.

Oxfordshire donor gives a kidney to stranger

An Oxfordshire woman has become one of only a handful people in the UK to donate a kidney to a stranger.   Di Franks, 58, who lives near Wantage, has become an altruistic donor - meaning she does not know the person who's life she helped to save.   Professor Peter Friend of Churchill Hospital said Ms Franks could continue to lead a healthy life.   "Undoubtedly the individual will lose some kidney function but there is no evidence to date that has any long term effect on their health," he said.

Oxford surgeons back pencil over felt-tip pens

Karen Eley from the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences and  Stephen Watt-Smith from the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital have claimed that IKEA pencils are more effective marking out cuts than traditional felt-tip pens. The  findings will be  published  in the Christmas issue of medical publication BMJ.

Surgery can lead to long-term reduction in stroke risk

Successful surgery for narrowed arteries in the neck halves the risk of having a stroke over the next 5 years, and benefit persists for at least 10 years, an Oxford-led study has shown.

Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences - Department Name Change

As of the 1st of July the Department will be known as the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences

Immune cell levels predict skin cancer risk in kidney transplant patients

Immune cell levels predict skin cancer risk in kidney transplant patients Measuring certain types of immune cells may predict the high risk of skin cancer after kidney transplantation, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). "There are differences in the immune system, and some of these are associated with the development of skin cancer after transplantation," comments Robert Carroll, MD (The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, South Australia). The researchers measured levels of key immune cells in 116 kidney transplant recipients, 65 of whom developed squamous cell skin cancers. "We were hoping to see if there were differences in the immune systems of patients who developed skin cancer after transplantation compared to those who did not develop skin cancer," says Carroll. The results showed that patients with high levels of an immune cell type called Tregulatory cells, or "Tregs" together with low levels of another type of immune cell, called Natural Killer cells, had risk more than five times higher.

Oxfordshire patients to benefit from robotic surgery

The University of Oxford and the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust have acquired the latest technology in robotic surgery for the benefit of patients, research and teaching. This latest model is the only one of its kind in the UK.   The new £2 million instrument in the recently opened Oxford Cancer Centre will benefit patients undergoing keyhole surgery to remove certain types of cancer.