Professor Kamal Mahawar

I am an experienced Consultant General and Bariatric Surgeon at Sunderland Royal Hospital, which is one of the highest volume NHS bariatric units. I was appointed to this role in April 2011 following my higher surgical training in the Northern Deanery. I was the first trainee in the North East to choose bariatric surgery as my career choice and amongst one of the first nationally.

I am one of the most experienced bariatric and laparoscopic surgeons nationally and the lead for upper GI and bariatric surgery at Sunderland Hospital. The National Bariatric Surgery Registry data consistently shows me to be one of the highest volume surgeons in the country - amongst the top 10 percentile. I regularly perform procedures like sleeve gastrectomy, roux en y gastric bypass, one anastomosis or mini gastric bypass, and revisional bariatric surgery with a very high degree of safety, and my results are comparable with some of the best surgeons in the world.

In addition, I am a renowned academic with over 235 peer-reviewed publications and many chapters in famous textbooks. I have a H index of 41; with my work being cited more than 6,000 times. I am also an editor of several prominent journals in the field of bariatric surgery (including Obesity Surgery, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, Clinical Obesity, and Annals of Royal College of Surgeons of England). 

The journal “Obesity Surgery” published my biography in 2018 recognising my global contribution to the field of obesity and metabolic surgery. I have been a visiting professor at the University of Sunderland since January 2019. Prior to this, I was a visiting research fellow at the university since 2016. I am also an Associate Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University.

As a recognised surgical leader, I am the founder, ex – president and chair of the board of trustees for the Upper Gastrointestinal Surgical Society (TUGSS) along with being an executive council member, treasurer, and trustee of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS). Previously I was the chair of the National Bariatric Surgery Registry (NBSR) Committee in 2022-23 and also founded and chaired the BOMSS Patient Safety Committee from 2020-22.

I have proudly delivered invited lectures in regional, national, and international meetings in countries around the world - including USA, Germany, France, UAE, and India.

I formerly was a member of the council of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) and its Associate Director for conferences (2020-23). Presently, I am the Northern England representative on the council of the British Benign Upper Gastrointestinal Surgical Society since June 2020 and a member of the National Hiatal Surgery Registry Committee. I also serve on the National Bariatric Registry Committee, ASGBI Research Committee, and Scientific Committee of International Federation for Surgery of Obesity (IFSO).