Martin Kurzer is a specialist hernia surgeon. http://www.martinkurzer.com He joined the British Hernia Centre in 1991, and now has his own practice based at the Hospital of St John and Elizabeth, London NW8. His surgical training was at University College Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, London. He then spent two years in the USA returning in 1987, when he went into full time private practice. His main interests are in local anaesthetic day-case surgery, the use of tension free mesh and the repair of complex recurrent groin hernias. He speaks regularly at UK and international conferences and has published numerous peer reviewed articles and book chapters on all aspects of hernia surgery. He is a keen supporter of the charity ‘Operation Hernia’ (www.operationhernia.org.uk and visited Ghana with the charity in 2009. He is a co-founder, and is currently president, of the British Hernia Society. http://www.britishherniasociety.org