Mr Kumar Abhinav

I have been extensively operatively and clinically trained at prestigious national and international leading neurosurgical centres in the United States (University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre, Pittsburgh and Stanford University, Stanford, USA]. With over 15 years of experience in neurosurgery and five as Consultant Neurosurgeon and having performed approximately 800 complex brain operations as a lead surgeon, I have expertise in complex brain surgery treating challenging conditions affecting the base of the skull, pituitary gland and blood vessels in the brain.

With my expertise in both open surgical techniques, endoscopic endonasal neurosurgery carried out through the nose and transorbital neurosurgery (through the eye socket), I take pride in providing world class care by choosing the best surgical approach for patients with skull base and other tumours to achieve the best outcomes. I lead the endoscopic endonasal and minimally invasive skull base neurosurgery programme at the Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust and provide surgical and clinical care to patients regionally, nationally and internationally.

I have extensively published books, book chapters and research papers (over 40 in prestigious international journals) with an emphasis on surgical techniques and have lectured extensively as an invited speaker at national and international conferences like North America Skull Base Society, European Congress of Endocrinology among others on topics ranging from surgical treatment of complex pituitary tumours to craniopharyngiomas. As an invited faculty, I have taught on surgical courses internationally and have trained practising neurosurgeons from around the world in these surgical techniques and direct a subspecialist clinical fellowship skull base programme in complex skull base surgery at Southmead Hospital.

I specialise in skull base neurosurgery with a strong focus on pituitary tumours, meningiomas and particularly those affecting the base of the skull, craniopharyngiomas, schwannomas, chordomas and brain tumours including those in deep challenging areas of the brain like pineal tumours. I also subspecialise in open cebrovascular neurosurgery with expertise in the management of cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations and cavernous malformations with an emphasis on the management of brainstem cavernous malformations. With my comprehensive training and experience in open and advanced endoscopic endonasal (via nose) surgical techniques and additionally transorbital route, I take pride in approaching skull base tumours with a 360-degree perspective using the most suitable approach (to enhance patient outcomes with the vast majority now being treated via the endoscopic endonasal (via nose) route.

I also undertake and specialise in degenerative spinal disorders and undertake procedures like microdiscectomy, lumbar decompression and foraminotomy.

My personal goal has been to be provide world class surgical care to my patients. To achieve this, I undertook four years of additional training at leading international neurosurgical centres in the USA. I completed one-year clinical operative fellowship (2017-2018) in open cerebrovascular and skull base neurosurgery under the mentorship of Professor Gary K Steinberg at the Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, USA. During this period, I acquired expertise in the management of cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, cavernous malformations and cerebrovascular bypass. Following that I completed a further clinical operative fellowship (2018-2019) in skull base and pituitary neurosurgery focussing on advanced open and endoscopic endonasal surgical techniques under the mentorship of Dr Juan C. Fernandez-Miranda, an international leader in this field at the Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, USA. During this period, I acquired expertise in surgical treatment of difficult pituitary tumours, skull base meningiomas, schwannomas, chordomas and brain tumours including those in deep challenging areas of the brain.

To lay down the groundwork for these subspecialist fellowships, during my training I undertook two-year research fellowship in skull base neurosurgery and surgical neuroanatomy (2013-2015) towards the award of doctor of medicine as a postdoctoral fellow in the prestigious Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC).

I am also a Honorary Lecturer at the University of Bristol and have extensive research interests and collaboration with the Robotics Laboratory and the Department of Anatomy aimed at improving surgical techniques and patient clinical outcomes by a promoting a thorough understanding of surgical neuroanatomy and improvement and development of newer less invasive surgical techniques.