Mr Shehan Hettiaratchy
MA (Oxon), BM BCh, FRCS(Eng), DM, FRCS(Plast)
Consultant Hand, Plastic, Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgeon.
Shehan Hettiaratchy was born and raised in Hampshire, UK. He was a scholar at Winchester College and, after a gap year as an officer in The Parachute Regiment, he went up to Trinity College, Oxford to read medicine. He graduated as a doctor from Oxford University in 1994 with prizes in both medicine and surgery and a blue in boxing. He underwent basic surgical training in London teaching hospitals and obtained FRCS (Eng) in 1998.
Following basic surgical training, Shehan undertook basic science research into an area that he is passionate about, the use of transplantation to reconstruct the human body. He won a prestigious research fellowship at Harvard Medical School, USA, based at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, one of the top-rated institutions in the world. While at Harvard, he developed the first valid pre-clinical model of limb transplantation without long-term immunosuppression. This work formed part of the rationale for the human hand transplant protocol being carried out at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. In recognition of this work, Shehan was honoured with a Hunterian Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He also received the Pulvertaft Prize from the British Society of Surgery of the Hand, awards from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, American Association of Hand Surgeons and the Plastic Surgery Research Council. He was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine by Oxford University, one of its highest accolades.
On return to the UK, Shehan continued his training in plastic surgery in some of the best units in London and Birmingham. He obtained FRCS(Plast) in 2007 and was accepted onto the GMC Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery in 2008. His special interests are upper and lower limb reconstruction, hand surgery and cosmetic surgery. To complete his training, he undertook world-class fellowships in microsurgery with Prof Jagdeep Nanchahal at Charing Cross Hospital, London; hand and peripheral nerve surgery with Professor Michael Tonkin in Sydney, Australia; and cosmetic surgery at the Wellington Hospital, London. He is currently a Consultant and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and is Clinical Lead for the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is also part of the UK Face Transplantation Team and is an Honorary Consultant at the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust. He has written over 40 scientific papers, several book chapters and two Plastic Surgical text books.
Throughout his career, Shehan has worked in areas of conflict or disasters. He has carried out charity work in Kosovo, Abkhazia, Chechnya and Georgia. In 2010, he was selected to be part of British plastic surgical team that went into Haiti one week after the earthquake. He is also a member of the British Army Reserve, serving with Airborne Forces. He has volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan twice (2009, 2010-11) and has been involved in the care of military personnel in the UK.
Shehan's personal philosophy is to only accept the best and strive for perfection. He is committed to delivering the highest quality care in a kind and considerate manner. Shehan has wide surgical and life experience to draw on to ensure that his patients receive excellent holistic care.
In his spare time, Shehan is a keen runner (usually after one of his four children), average snowboarder and reluctant parachutist.
