Meet the Team

Mr David Kerrigan

MD with Distinction (1992), FRCS, FRCSEd (1986), MB ChB (1982).

Consultant Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgeon. Secretary and Founder Member, British Obesity Surgery Society.

Royal College of Surgeons Representative National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Obesity Guidelines 2005-6. Honorary Senior Lecturer in Surgery, University of Liverpool.

Mr Kerrigan practices at Spire Murrayfield Hospital Wirral. He is the Medical Director of Gravitas.

Mr Simon Dexter

DM (2000) FRCS, FCSHK, BM (1987)

Consultant in Upper GI and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust.

Council Member, British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society and Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons.

Mr Dexter practices at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital and Spire Leeds.

Mr Shafiq Javed

MSc, FRCS, MB ChB

Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgeon, working at Arrowe Park Hospital and University Hospital, Aintree. Qualified in London, 1987. Mr Javed is a very experienced surgeon, who trained in bariatric surgery with Mr Kerrigan and he performs the full range of advanced laparoscopic bariatric surgical procedures.

Mr Rob Macadam

MB ChB, FRCS Ph D

Qualified from Leeds 1990, trained in bariatric surgery in Leeds and Liverpool. Consultant in Upper GI cancer and minimal access surgery at University Hospital Aintree. Rob performs laparoscopic bands, bypasses and sleeve gastrectomy. He is the clinical audit lead for Gravitas. Rob is the lead surgeon for our Fylde coast service.

Mr Kurshid Akhtar

MD FRCS(Eng) FRCS(Gen) MBBS

Consultant surgeon with special interests in laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery and bariatric surgery including laparoscopic banding and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Mr Akhtar qualified in medicine in 1983 and was appointed as a consultant in 2000. Most of his training was undertaken in Manchester, together with surgical fellowships in Japan and the USA. In addition to his work for Gravitas, Mr Akhtar currently works as lead Oesophagogastric Surgeon for the Pennine NHS Trust.

He performs large numbers of complex stomach and oesophageal operations in the NHS and in his Private Practice at The Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle and Spire Manchester Hospital.

Mr James Evans

MB BS MD LLM FRCS

Consultant Upper GI and Laparoscopic Surgeon at the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust. Mr Evans also practices at the Nuffield Hospital in Chester.

He qualified from Newcastle in 1990 and completed his surgical training in Nottingham and Liverpool. He also spent one year at the Northern Oesophago-gastric Unit in Newcastle to gain further sub-speciality training in Upper GI Cancer Surgery.

Mr David Monk

MB ChB FRCS

David qualified from the University of Liverpool in 1986. He trained in surgery in Liverpool, London, New Zealand and Manchester. He has been a Consultant Surgeon in Chester since 1998. He has a longstanding interest in minimally invasive surgery of the oesophagus and stomach.

He has trained with Gravitas surgeons and works at Nuffield Health, The Grosvenor Hospital, Chester

Mr Abeezar Sarela

MSc MS MD FRCS(Gen Surg)

Abeezar Sarela qualified in 1991 (MBBS, University of Bombay) and subsequently trained in London, Leeds and New York, USA.

He was appointed as a consultant surgeon in the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in 2003 and is a core member of the bariatric multi-disciplinary team in the Leeds NHS Trust.

He has extensive experience of complex laparoscopic surgery of the stomach and performs the gastric band, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy procedures.

Mr Andrew Kennedy

MD FRCS FRCS(I)

Consultant Upper GI Surgeon, Royal Victortia Hospital, Belfast. Trained in laparoscopic and open oesophago-gastric surgery. Initial training in open bariatric surgery Adelaide, South Australia 1998, more recently has trained with Gravitas in laparoscopic techniques.

Mr Andrew Baker

Andrew qualified in 1989 in Auckland, New Zealand. Having finished surgical training he came to the UK in 1998 and spent time working in Cambridge and Dundee.

Appointed as Consultant Upper GI and Laparoscopic Surgeon in 2001 in Wrexham, North Wales, he has experience with a wide range of complex minimal access procedures, particularly of the oesophagus and stomach.

Mr Javed Ahmed

MBBS FRCS

Mr Ahmed qualified in 1988. After completing surgical training in the UK and Dublin, he was awarded the first Gravitas Bariatric Training Fellowship before going on to work at other top bariatric units in both the Netherlands and the USA.

When appointed as an NHS Consultant and Lead Surgeon in Bariatric Surgery at Royal Derby Hospital in 2008, he set up the laparoscopic gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy service. His unit now provides the NHS bariatric service for East Midlands, South Yorkshire and Humber and will perform around 500 bariatric cases a year. Mr Javed is a very capable bariatric surgeon who offers a wide range of primary and revisional procedures.

Mr Mayilone Arumugasamy

MCh, FRCSI

Consultant Laparoscopic Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon. Qualified Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Medal in Surgery. FRCSI 1997. Masters in Surgery (RCSI/NUI) Beaumont 2001.

Worked as Consultant Upper GI Surgeon in Cork. Extensive experience in keyhole oesophago-gastric surgery. Completed Bariatric fellowship with Mr Kerrigan in Liverpool 2008.

Mr Sean Woodcock

MBBS MS FRCS(Eng)

Sean is lead bariatric surgeon at North Tyneside Hospital, where he has worked since 2005.

He qualified in London in 1991 and subsequently trained in Manchester and Harvard Medical School, USA, with specific bariatric training in Gothenburg and Adelaide.

He runs a high quality comprehensive bariatric service in the North East and regularly performs laparoscopic gastric band, bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and revisional surgery.

Dr Euan Shearer

Euan qualified from Liverpool in 1982 and was appointed as consultant in anaesthesia & critical care in 1993. He was director of critical care in a large teaching hospital for 7 years and is one of the most experienced bariatric anaesthetists in the UK.

Known for his exceptionally calm and friendly manner, Euan is the Anaesthetic Director of the Gravitas group. He and Mr Kerrigan founded the bariatric service in Merseyside and have worked together for almost 15 years.

Dr Carmen Lacasia

Dr Carmen Lacasia has been a Consultant Anaesthetist at University Hospital Aintree for 9 years. She has a specialist interest in anaesthesia of obese patients, Upper Gastro-Intestinal, hepato-biliary surgery and patients with a difficult airway.

Dr David Raw

Dr David Raw is a consultant anaesthetist whose initial undergraduate medical training was at Oxford University, where he gained a first class degree.

After qualification, he returned to his home in the North West of England, where he trained as an anaesthetist. He has been a consultant since 2004, and has had an interest in bariatric anaesthesia since.

Dr Lyndsay Cheater

MB ChB, FRCA, PGCMed Ed

Consultant in Anaesthesia and Critical Care in the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust. Graduated from Birmingham University Medical School 1997 Specialist interests in Bariatric Anaesthesia; Critical Care (Lead Consultant for the High Dependancy Unit).

Lyndsay is also active in medical education. She is educational supervisor to anaesthetists/critical care doctors in training.

Dr Nicole Robin

MB ChB(Hons) MRCP FRCA

Graduated Birmingham Medical School 1990. Trained in Queensland and Victoria (Australia), Liverpool and Merseyside (UK). Appointed Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the Countess of Chester Hospital 2001.

Specialist interests: Critical care, anaesthesia for Colorectal surgery, management of the difficult airway. Trained with Gravitas anaesthetists in anaesthesia for bariatric surgery.

Mr Ken Clare

Our Bariatric Specialist Nurse Ken had gastric bypass surgery in 2002. He is the founder of WLSinfo, the UK's leading obesity patient support charity. He lectures nationally on obesity surgery and patient support.

He has spoken at All Party Parliamentary Groups in health in Parliament. He was a member of the NICE Advisory panel on the technology appraisal for Bariatric Surgery. He has appeared on TV, radio and in the print media. He is a member of the Committee for the Association for the Study of Obesity.

Mrs Esther Macadam

Esther qualified as a nurse in 1994. She has extensive experience at a senior level in surgical nursing. Esther is the lead Bariatric Specialist Nurse at our Fylde Coast Clinic..

Mrs Lesley Canning

As bariatric patient coordinator, Lesley is one of the main contact points for our service. She has worked with both NHS and private bariatric services. Lesley will be happy to answer any of your queries - phone her on 08452 515 515.

Jayne Brocklehurst

MSc, BSc, (Hons) RD

Our bariatric practitioner Jayne qualified as a dietitian in 2001. She has extensive experience working in upper GI surgery at a senior level.

Jayne leads the clinical support team and is responsible for the nutritional management of patients, and is involved in the training of nurses and dietitians working within Gravitas.

She has presented on obesity surgery at a number of conferences and completed her gastric band adjustment training in January 2009.

Catherine Towers

Catherine Towers has been a Health Professions Council registered dietician for nearly twenty years, on the Fylde Coast.

Catherine uses her skills and knowledge from her Masters Degree in Weight Management and University Advanced Certificate in Counselling Skills to guide individuals successfully to a healthier weight, after weight loss surgery.

Emma Thomas

Emma is our Office Manager and leads on contract liaison. She is PA to the Medical Director and is responsible for our back office setup. Emma will be happy to answer any of your queries - phone her on 08452 515 515.

Barbara Moore

Completing our Admin team is Barbara. She is often at new patient presentations, and at open evenings. She will be happy to answer any of your queries - phone her on 08452 515 515.

Jan Byrne

Jan is the admin team member based in Dublin. She lived in the Netherlands for 7 years and then moved to Ireland in 1988 and has worked as a medical secretary in the private sector in Dublin for over 12 years.

Karen Granger

Karen joined Gravitas in November 2009 after working in the NHS for over 20 years as a medical secretary.