Mr Karan Malhotra

I am an Orthopaedic Consultant specialising in foot and ankle surgery. After completing my medical and surgical training in the UK, I underwent further fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery and undertook a visiting fellowship in Singapore and an international fellowship in Melbourne, Australia. Here I had the opportunity to learn novel and cutting edge surgical techniques, as well as develop my interest in the treatment of sporting injuries and ankle replacements. I completed my final fellowship at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, UK (RNOH) where I now practice as an NHS consultant. My NHS practice includes the assessment and treatment of complex deformity, arthritis and neuromuscular disorders. Privately I work as part of the Stanmore Foot and Ankle Specialists group.

I specialise in all adult foot and ankle conditions including complex neuromuscular conditions, deformity, tendon disorders, arthritis, plantar fasciitis, bunions, and toe deformities. My NHS practice at the RNOH is a tertiary referral centre, receiving referrals and complex cases from all over the UK.

I have always had a passion for research and have numerous peer reviewed publications, book chapters / consensus documents, regional / national / international presentations and audit / quality improvement projects. I am currently actively involved in a quality improvement project to redesign patient pathways, improve efficiency and measure outcomes.

I undertake cutting edge research into novel methods of treating arthritis, deformity correction, treatment of neuromuscular disorders, and into methods for assessing foot and ankle conditions. I work closely with the Institute of Musculoskeletal Sciences affiliated with UCL where I am involved with projects aimed at improving patient care. I am an Honorary Associate Professor at the Department of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, University College London.

I have achieved numerous prizes during my career. I have won prizes for the best performance on simulation surgery during my training and won the ‘Best Research Paper’ award for my training rotation. I have been awarded grants from the British Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (BOFAS) for my international fellowship to Australia.

I have been successful in applying for grants for conducting research and was awarded the first prize for ‘Best International Research Paper’ by the European Foot and Ankle Society (EFAS) in 2018. I was subsequently invited to present this work at the BOFAS congress in 2019. In 2020 I was awarded the ‘Best Published Paper’ award by EFAS for work done on the ankle syndesmosis and in 2021 my work on the UK-FALCON national audit of COVID-19 in foot and ankle patients was awarded the ‘Chang Chen Best Paper award’ by the British Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society.

I am the lead for junior doctor (foundation doctor) teaching at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) and publish the education newsletter. I am passionate about ensuring that we achieve the best possible quality of care for patients, and I am the Outcomes Champion for the foot and ankle department at the RNOH.

I am a member on two national committees for the British Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (BOFAS): the ‘Outcomes Committee' (co-opted) and the ‘Information Technology Committee’ (elected). My roles involve managing data migration from local databases to the national registry, developing pathways, streamlining the society website and coordinating national education via webinars.

I believe it is of the utmost importance for patients to be involved in their care and decision making. I strive to ensure patients are given a balanced and honest opinion of all surgical and non-surgical options available to them for the treatment of their condition and that they can understand these options. In some instances, this may involve a discussion of complex cases in a multi-disciplinary setting.