A Bradford doctor has been presented with a Fellowship (without examination) in recognition of his contribution to educating the breast surgeons of the future.
Rick Linforth, 49, has worked at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a consultant oncoplastic breast and reconstructive surgeon since 2006.
He was presented with his award at Manchester Town Hall by the president of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) England, Professor Derek Alderson.
Mr Linforth said: “The Fellowship in General Surgery was awarded to me for services in education and training in breast surgery delivered at the RCS, on behalf of the Association of Breast Surgery of Great Britain and Ireland, over the last decade.
Great honour
“It’s a great honour and one which would not have been possible without the support of my colleagues at the Foundation Trust.
“I sincerely believe in providing our patients with individual, personalised, high-quality care while, at the same time, empowering them to maintain and improve their health after surgery.
“Educating patients and working with them to achieve the best physical state possible is something I hold very dear and instil in my teaching to my junior doctors and newly appointed consultants.”
Mr Linforth has been teaching consultant surgeons and senior registrars about skin-sparing mastectomies and immediate reconstruction for the past decade. He performed the first European case of breast reconstruction using Alloderm (1) in a breast cancer patient here in Bradford in July 2008.
World first
His latest research on Artia (2), the third generation ADM from Lifecell, was a world-first abstract publication and was presented at the Nottingham International Oncoplastic Reconstructive Breast Symposium (ORBS) in September.
In 2015, Mr Linforth was made a Member of the College Academy of Surgeon Educators. He is certified by the General Medical Council and is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Surgeons England, and the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. He is a full member of the Association of Breast Surgery of Great Britain and Ireland.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals is one of only 12 national training oncoplastic centres for the Association of Breast Surgery.
- Alloderm is an ECM biomaterial marketed by LifeCell Corporation that is used in reconstructive and dental surgeries; it is derived from skin taken from donated cadavers. Alloderm has been used to reconstruct breasts experimentally after breast cancer surgery.
2. Atria is porcine dermis with the surface glands removed to leave a collagen sheet. This saves patients from having major surgery.