Mr Matthew Gardiner

I am a Consultant Hand and Plastic Surgeon and Associate Medical Director for Research and Innovation at Frimley Health. I am also a researcher based at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford and Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey. My philosophy is to deliver patient-centred care with the aim of working together improve health and wellbeing. After a full assessment, we will discuss the benefits and potential harms of different treatments to ensure shared decision making. Where possible I strive to deliver non-surgical treatments. If hand surgery is needed, I am expert in delivering this under local anaesthetic with the patient awake (WALANT surgery). I completed my medical training at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford before completing a PhD at Imperial College London. My plastic surgery training in London included an Extremity Reconstruction Fellowship at St Mary's Hospital.  I then completed an Advanced Training Fellowship in Hand Surgery in Oxford and International Travelling Fellowship visiting centres in the USA. I have also completed the Wellington Aesthetic Fellowship in London.  I am on the GMC Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery (6055391) and am a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

My specialist clinical interests include hand and wrist conditions. I have a longstanding research interest in osteoarthritis of the hand and am actively engaged in research studies in this field. I hold a patent for a new thumb splint to treat thumb base osteoarthritis and contributed to the national guidelines for treatment of this condition. I am a keen proponent of 'wide awake local anaesthetic no tourniquet (WALANT)' hand surgery. This enables patients to stay awake during the surgery and have a more rapid postoperative recovery. To support this approach, I have designed a new hand table that allows patients to remain sat-up.