Sean P. F. Hughes


Sean Patrick Francis Hughes is Emeritus Professor of orthopaedic surgery at Imperial College London where he was previously Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and head of the department of surgery, anaesthetics and intensive care. Earlier in his career he had been Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Edinburgh.
His clinical research topics have included fracture healing, musculoskeletal infection and the surgery of degenerate  lumbar and cervical discs. His basic science research publications include studies of the microcirculation of bone, bone infection and the role of nitric oxide in bone and joint disease. He served as Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and chairman of DISCS, the charity funding research into spinal conditions.
His interests in the history of medicine have focused on the history of orthopaedic surgery and the doctor and poet John Keats.

Early life and training

Hughes was born in Farnham, Surrey, England and attended school at Downside School. He studied medicine at the University of London, qualifying with an MB BS in 1966. His surgical training in orthopaedics took place in London and he became a senior registrar in orthopaedic and trauma surgery at the Middlesex Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. He attained his FRCSEd in 1971 and FRCSEng and FRCSI the following year. Subsequently, he was awarded the degree of MS from University of London with a thesis on bone scanning, completed while he was research fellow at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

Surgical career

In 1979 he was appointed Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London. Later that year he was appointed to the Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Edinburgh. In 1984/85, he held an academic mentorship for Rüdiger Döhler.
He was listed as a member, in the International Skeletal Society's 25th anniversary book.
In 1991, he became Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Imperial College London and Honorary Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust. At the same time he took on the role of Chief of Service Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, a post which he held until 1998, when he became the Trust's Clinical Director for Surgery and Anaesthetics. He was Non-Executive Director of the West Middlesex University Hospital and was Medical Director of Ravenscourt Park Hospital from 2002–2004. Hughes was Clinical Director of the Hillingdon Primary Care Trust from 2008–10.
In addition to his clinical and academic responsibilities, he was Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and President of the British Orthopaedic Research Society. He served as chairman of the charity Action Research, now called Action Medical Research.
He was on the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Orthopaedics, Trauma
and was Chairman of the charity Discovering Innovative Solutions for Conditions of the Spine.
Currently he is a primary editor of The Bone & Joint Journal.
Hughes performed basic research on bone blood flow mineral exchange, musculoskeletal infections and stem cell research. He has a special interest in degenerative disc disease and external fixation of fractures.

History of Medicine

Hughes has lectured on the history of orthopaedics. In addition, he gave the eponymous Keats lecture at the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 2017.

Personal life

He is married to Felicity Hughes, a retired medical microbiologist.

Awards and honours

Hughes wrote or contributed to 216 total publications in scientific journals, thirty-two chapters in books and thirteen books.

Papers

General orthopaedics