Mr Simon M Higgs

Profile

Originally from the North East of England, Mr Higgs studied medicine at Bristol University with pre-registration house jobs spent in Taunton and Frenchay Hospital, Bristol. He spent a year in Perth Western Australia gaining experience in Emergency Medicine and a variety of surgical disciplines.

Basic surgical training rotation was in Exeter where he cut his teeth in the operating theatre and developed a fascination for upper GI surgery particularly oesophageal cancer surgery and anti-reflux surgery.

He studied under Professor Derek Alderson and Miss Sally Norton in Bristol for a 2 year period of research investigating the use of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), EUS-guided biopsy and application of sentinel node theory in the management of oesophageal cancer. His research was presented at National and International meetings and was awarded a best trainee presentation prize at ISDE in Adelaide and BJS prize runner up at AUGIS in Dublin.

His higher surgical training was spent throughout the South-West of England gaining experience in the full breadth of general and upper Gastro-Intestinal surgery. This rotation included significant periods of training in all the oesophagogastric and bariatric units in the South West where he consolidated his surgical skills becoming expert in minimally invasive surgical techniques and advanced endoscopy.

After successfully becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2010 and completing his higher surgical training in 2011, Mr Higgs was appointed as a Consultant General, Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon to Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust. He has been the clinical lead for The Three Counties OesophagoGastric Centre for 6 years and is now also the cancer and MDT lead. He has developed the endoscopic ultrasound service and introduced enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) for oesophagectomy improving clinical outcomes and reducing length of stay.

His main surgical interests lie in minimally invasive surgical techniques especially related to oesophageal and gastric cancer, reflux disease, giant hiatal hernia, gallstones, bile duct stones and achalasia. He remains dedicated to improving surgical outcomes with the use of enhanced recovery pathways.

Education of surgeons of the future is extremely important and Mr Higgs was honoured to be nominated as trainer of the year by his trainees in 2017 and 2018.

Cotswold GI @ Imperial Medical Group is Mr Higgs’ private practice based at Nuffield Health Cheltenham Hospital offering outpatient and inpatient services mirroring his NHS practice. Endoscopic ultrasound is offered privately at Gloucester Royal Hospital along with surgery for those patients with more complex medical needs or those who need critical care facilities post-operatively.