Paul Haslam: Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Doncaster

Expertise

With over 11 years' experience as a consultant knee surgeon, Mr Paul Haslam has developed an interest and expertise in acute knee injuries and using a multidisciplinary approach has helped many sports men and women back to their pre-injury level of fitness.  Mr Haslam has developed his interest in sports injuries by attending national and international meetings.

He is now a faculty member and convenor of an ACL course aimed at teaching other surgeons ACL reconstruction surgery. He keeps up to date with latest developments in the world of knee surgery by attending meetings and has visited renowned knee specialists in the USA and Germany.

Mr Haslam is a knee specialist and suggests all patients insist they see a specialist!

Training and experience

Mr Haslam’s undergraduate training was at Sheffield medical school qualifying in 1994. He completed basic surgical training in Derby and Leicester moving on to Sheffield for registrar training.

During this time he developed an interest in knee surgery, presented at national and international meetings and published an undergraduate textbook.

He later undertook fellowships in Melbourne, Auckland and Sydney developing his expertise and interest in knee surgery.

Mr Haslam was a member of the specialist training committee which oversees the training of future surgeons in the region. He acts as a mentor and educational supervisor for several doctors in training.

Mr Haslam has taken on a leadership role within the NHS and is currently working as Assistant Care Group Director for elective services within the NHS trust. This challenging role includes managing and taking responsibility for the smooth running of the department.

Treatments

Mr Haslam has a special interest in the management of sports-related and acute injuries to the knee and works closely with allied health professionals.

An initial consultation with Mr Haslam costs £195. He is available for consultation at Park Hill Hospital every Tuesday 2-8pm, and Friday evening fortnightly.

Specialist procedures offered by Mr Haslam include:

• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction
• Knee arthroscopy (including Baker's cyst debridement)
• Knee osteotomy
• Patella stabilisation procedures
• Total and partial knee replacement (including patient-specific instrumentation)

Expert anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction

Running diagonally through the inside of the knee joint, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plays a crucial role in joint stability and in controlling the back-and-forth movement of the lower leg.  Injuries to the ACL are very common, particularly in sports that involve stopping or changing direction suddenly, landing awkwardly from a jump, or tackling, such as football, netball, tennis and skiing.  Tears to the ACL do not repair themselves and result in long term knee instability (giving way of the joint) and can lead to further cartilage tears if not addressed.

Mr Haslam is in the top ten users nationally of the  National Ligament registry which is a database to monitor the results of ACL surgery.

Mr Haslam works as part of an experienced multidisciplinary team to offer rapid assessment and expert management of ACL injuries.  As a trainer in ACL reconstruction surgery, he is highly experienced in techniques to repair the ACL using a tendon harvested from elsewhere in the patient's body. 

Custom-made total knee replacement

Modern knee replacement surgery, to replace a damaged or worn-out knee joint with an artificial implant, is one of the most commonly performed operations in the UK, restoring mobility and relieving pain for thousands of people each year.

Committed to staying abreast of the latest developments in knee surgery, Mr Haslam offers custom-made total knee replacement, an innovative procedure that ensures the best possible placement of a knee implant.  Using CT scanning and state-of-the-art computer software, a three dimensional scan of the leg is created prior to surgery, which in turn is used to create personalised surgical cutting guides.  The combination of pre-planning and patient-specific instrumentation offers a number of advantages including a shorter surgery time, a quicker recovery time, a more natural feeling result and better preservation of bone and ligaments.  It is also thought that the very accurate placement of custom-made knee implants may improve their longevity, as even a slight misalignment can lead to uneven wear and instability.

Mr Haslam is interested in all different types of knee injuries, developing this interest over the 9 years he has been a consultant. He performs over 400 arthroscopic procedures every year inclduing regular ACL reconstructions, Medial patello-femoral ligament reconstructions and meniscal surgery.Mr Haslam has developed a successful operation to treat Bakers cysts by key hole surgery. Most surgeons do not treat Cysts at the back of the knee or do so using big incsions. Mr Haslam is theonly surgeon in the region who treats Bakers Cysts .regularly with key hole surgery.

He also has a clinical interest in joint replacement surgery especially in custom made knee implants being the first surgeon in the region to use the signature knee system. He is trained in the Conformis knee a completely bespoke to the patient knee replacement

Research interests

Research interests include the medial patello-femoral ligament and junior doctor training across the Yorkshire deanery.

A recent study about the quality of air flow in theatres proved air hoses should not be used in orthopaedic surgery

Mr Haslam is interested in Arthroscopic decompression of Bakers Cysts and is currently reviewing his patients who have undergone this surgery.

Mr Haslam is committed to patient satisfaction and with that in mind takes time to find out the results of his surgery. You will be asked to fill in a questionnaire about your knee at the consultation and may be contacted after by email or in person.

Published papers

Whilst he was a trainee, he published and presented several papers on topics ranging from the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Total Knee replacement after High Tibial Osteotomy and Clubfoot.

During this time he was also able to co author an undergraduate textbook on Orthopaedics and Rheumatology which has sold all over the world and is now in its 2nd edition.