Mr Alistair Phillips

Mr Alistair Phillips is a fellowship‑trained Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon (FRCS Tr & Orth) who specialises exclusively in hand, wrist and elbow pathology. He holds an MBBS and a Post‑Graduate Certificate in Medical Education (PG Cert Med Ed). His outpatient clinics are based at the Wessex Nuffield Hospital, Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, and at the Phoenix Hospital, 9 Harley Street, London. Since February 2016 he has served as a Consultant Hand and Trauma Surgeon at the University Hospital Southampton Major Trauma Centre, where he completed eight years of service in a high‑volume trauma environment. During this period he performed more than 1 200 operative procedures, ranging from emergency fracture fixation to complex elective reconstructions, and routinely supervised junior surgeons and orthopaedic trainees on the on‑call rota. He also chaired the multidisciplinary hand‑injury team, coordinating care with physiotherapists, occupational therapists and hand therapists to ensure seamless rehabilitation pathways. In November 2023 he transitioned to his current dual appointments as Consultant Orthopaedic Hand Surgeon with the Phoenix Hospital Group and with the Wessex Nuffield Hospital. His practice now balances a busy elective list including WALANT tendon releases, nerve decompressions and arthritis‑related arthroplasties with a dedicated on‑call service for acute hand, wrist and elbow injuries across both institutions.

Mr Phillips’s clinical expertise covers the full spectrum of pathology affecting the hand, wrist and elbow. In the hand he treats fractures and dislocations of the metacarpals and phalanges, scaphoid fractures, ligamentous injuries, flexor and extensor tendon ruptures, nerve lesions, crush injuries and mallet finger. He also manages Dupuytren’s contracture (needle fasciotomy and excision), trigger finger/thumb, De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, and ganglion cysts. Arthritic conditions he addresses include osteoarthritis of the DIP, PIP and basal thumb joints, post‑traumatic arthritis, and inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid disease.

In the wrist his practice includes distal radius and scaphoid fractures (including non‑union and avascular necrosis), other carpal bone fractures, scapholunate and lunotriquetral ligament injuries, TFCC tears, wrist sprains, and soft‑tissue trauma. He treats median‑nerve compression (carpal tunnel syndrome), scaphoid‑non‑union advanced collapse (SNAC), Kienböck’s disease and wrist ganglion cysts.

For the elbow he manages radial‑head, olecranon and distal‑humerus fractures, elbow dislocations, ligamentous instability, and associated soft‑tissue injuries. Nerve‑compression disorders he treats include cubital‑tunnel syndrome, radial‑nerve compression and Lacertus syndrome. Tendinopathies such as lateral (tennis) and medial (golfer’s) epicondylitis, distal‑biceps tendinopathy or rupture, as well as elbow osteoarthritis, post‑traumatic arthritis, olecranon bursitis and intra‑articular loose bodies, also form part of his repertoire. Mr Phillips maintains a specialist interest in advanced surgical techniques, particularly Wide Awake Local Anaesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) procedures and ultrasound‑guided hand surgery.

Mr Phillips's research focuses on hand surgery, particularly wide-awake techniques, local anaesthetic optimisation, finger arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. He was Principal Investigator for a landmark cohort study comparing WALANT with conventional anaesthesia and has contributed to multiple NIHR and BSSH-sponsored trials on fixation devices, biologic adjuncts for scaphoid non-union, and outcome measures in upper-limb arthritis. As Clinical Director at Aurora Medical, an implant start-up, he led development of a £7 million European First-in-Man study, managing regulatory approvals, device testing and early-phase evaluation. This translational work integrates science, engineering and clinical practice to deliver innovations from bench to bedside. His scholarly output (493 citations, h-index 10; since 2020: 343 citations, h-index 7) reflects sustained impact. Current projects address peri-operative analgesia, long-term outcomes of minimally invasive wrist arthrodesis, and the cost-effectiveness of ultrasound-guided nerve-compression treatments.

During his tenure at University Hospital Southampton, Mr Phillips held the role of Trauma Lead (2019‑2022) and served as Lead for Procurement in Trauma & Orthopaedics (2016‑2023). He represented the United Kingdom on the FESSH Relationship Committee (2019‑2020) and presently acts as Chief Medical Officer for Ortho Consulting Group. These positions have provided him with extensive experience in service development, resource allocation, and multidisciplinary team leadership.

Mr Phillips has authored peer‑reviewed articles in high‑impact journals such as Hand Clinics, Hip International, Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery, Injury and the European Journal of Emergency Medicine. His work on WALANT protocols and anaesthesia minimisation is among the most frequently cited in the field, and he has contributed multiple book chapters to the authoritative volume Wide Awake Hand Surgery and related titles. In 2014 he was awarded the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) DVD Prize for his instructional video “Wide Awake Hand Surgery Basics,” a resource that has been incorporated into training curricula worldwide. Additional publications address soft‑tissue injury management, upper‑limb musculoskeletal clinical trials, and the biomechanics of wrist arthroplasty, reflecting a broad yet focused research portfolio that informs both clinical practice and guideline development. Collectively, his publications have shaped contemporary approaches to hand and wrist surgery, promoted the adoption of evidence‑based minimally invasive techniques, and provided a foundation for future investigative work in upper‑extremity orthopaedics.

Holding a PG Cert in Medical Education from Peninsula University, Mr Phillips is actively engaged in postgraduate teaching. He has delivered keynote lectures for the International Society for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH), the Belgian Hand Society and the Association of Surgeons in Primary Care (ASPC). He has served as invited faculty for advanced surgical courses in the UK and France and previously acted as an Educational Supervisor, providing teaching at local, regional and national levels. Mr Phillips's contributions to education have been recognised with the UHS Hospital Hero Award for establishing the Trauma Admission Unit, a BOA Trauma Fellowship to a dedicated local‑anaesthetic theatre in Calgary, and the BSSH DVD Prize (2014) for an instructional video on “Wide Awake Hand Surgery Basics.” Dr Phillips is a member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand, the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the ASPC (where he serves as a Council Member). He is currently completing the Cardiff University Bond Solon (CUBS) Expert Witness Certificate.