Staff Profiles

Professor Coakham BSc, FRCS, FRCP, trained in neurosurgery at the Guys-Maudsley Unit, London, and was a Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.

He was appointed Consultant to Frenchay Hospital Bristol and awarded an Honorary Professorship. He developed an early interest in surgery of the skull base and cranial nerves having studied with experts in USA and Japan. He has helped to pioneer microvascular decompression surgery in the UK

Mr Nik Patel BSc, MBBS, FRCS (Neuro.Surg) has trained in the techniques of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery and is a Consultant Neurosurgeon at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol.

He trained in neurosurgery at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, where he developed interests and expertise in the stereotactic surgery for functional brain disorders, the surgical treatment of facial pain and cranial nerve hyperactive syndromes, and in neuromodulation therapies for chronic pain syndromes (spinal cord stimulation, deep brain stimulation and intrathecal drug delivery).

In recognition for his research, he has been awarded a Hunterian Professorship in Neurosurgery from the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Website: www.nikpatel.com

Dr Sam Lhatoo MBBS MD(Med) MRCP(UK) MD(Neurology) is a general neurologist working as an NHS consultant neurologist at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Bristol.

He trained in Neurology at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Queen Square in London with further training in Epilepsy and Electroencephalography at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in America.

His specialist interests are in Epilepsy, EEG and Facial Pain, having published extensively in the field of Neurology.

Dr David Cottrell MB ChB, BSc (Hons), MRCP, PhD is a general neurologist working as an NHS consultant neurologist at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Bristol.

He trained initially at the University of Edinburgh where he gained both his medical degree and a 1st class honours in pharmacology. He received his PhD in mitochondrial genetics and ageing from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and received his neurology training both in Newcastle upon Tyne and Western Ontario. He has published widely in the field of Neurology including papers on multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, CNS ageing and mitochondrial DNA disorders.

His specialist interests include multiple sclerosis, headache and facial pain.

Professor Stephen Prime BDS (B'ham), PhD (Melb), FDSRCPS (Glas), FRCPath (Lond), DSc (B'ham) was appointed Consultant in Oral Medicine in 1983 and awarded a Professorship to the University of Bristol in 1992.

His subspecialty interests include oral mucosal lesions and oro-facial pain.

Dr Peter Brook is a consultant in Pain Management and Anaesthesia based at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. He is lead clinician for the pain services provided by United Bristol Healthcare Trust (UBHT).

He treats patients with a wide range of different pain conditions but has a particular interest in Oro-facial pain and especially Persistent Idiopathic Pain Syndromes.

His approach to the management of patients with persistent pain problems is based on the biopsychosocial model of pain. This is a holistic approach that looks at all aspects of the patient’s predicament and of their lives in an attempt to find the best treatment for that individual.

There are numerous different treatment options available for patients with persistent facial pain. These include conventional analgesic drugs, other drugs and the use of complementary therapies. Where appropriate there are psychological therapies that can be useful in the management of any persisting pain including facial pain.

Dr Angela Caney has Chartered Status with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is a member of its Division of Clinical Psychology and its Division of Clinical Health Psychology.

She initially trained at the Free University in Berlin and later gained her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Exeter.

Although her training was significantly influenced by cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), she is an evidence-based integrative practitioner with specialist interests in chronic pain and its effective management, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.