In 1994, he passed the FRCS examinations for both the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Edinburgh at the first attempt and moved into an Orthopaedic higher surgical training post on the Yorkshire Regional Orthopaedic Training Scheme.

The early part of Mr Sutton's training was very much in General Orthopaedics and Trauma whilst the latter part focused on his special interest in Knee Surgery. After completing his Orthopaedic training in the UK, Paul spent 12 months working as a Clinical Fellow in Auckland, New Zealand at the prestigious Adidas Sports Medicine Centre. Within this post, he worked alongside Barry Tietjens, a past President of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Sports Surgery (ISAKOS) and 2 of his colleagues Stuart Walsh and Bruce Twaddle. Working in this specialised training environment, he was exposed to patients with a wide range of knee conditions and sports injuries, developing his clinical skills treating these problems.

Mr Sutton says this additional training allowed him ‘to hone his operative skills in both advanced arthroscopic techniques and open knee surgery including complex ligament surgery and surgery for the arthritic knee’. Mr Sutton also feels that working within an internationally-recognised sports medicine unit gave him a ‘unique insight into the treatment of elite athletes as well as sportspeople of all ages and abilities’. Working as a specialist knee surgeon in a busy NHS Teaching Hospital and regional referral centre, Mr Sutton has consolidated these skills with 20 years’ experience.

Mr Sutton was appointed to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon with a special interest in knee surgery in May 2001. Sheffield Teaching Hospital is one of the largest Foundation Trusts in the UK and one of the largest Teaching Hospitals in Europe. Working in such a large Teaching Hospital department allows a high degree of specialisation and Mr Sutton's work is now exclusively limited to conditions and injuries of the knee. This includes a significant volume of complex knee surgery and ‘second opinion’ referral work.

Sheffield is home to the English Institute of Sport (EIS), 2 professional football clubs and a professional rugby league club. Through these links, Mr Sutton has gained large experience in treating Premiership footballers, rugby players and Olympic athletes.

Mr Sutton describes his clinical work and experience as covering all aspects of knee surgery, including complex arthroscopic surgery, multi-ligament surgery, surgery for the arthritic knee and knee trauma.

Paul has published many scientific papers and book chapters related to knee injuries and their treatment.

Mr Sutton works exclusively as a knee surgeon and has surgical experience treating almost all conditions of the knee. He works closely with other experienced specialist knee surgeons throughout the country. He has a regional practice treating patients with patella dislocations and is one of only a few UK surgeons with a large experience of ‘Trochleoplasty Surgery’. This is surgery to deepen the groove (Trochlea) over the front of the knee in patients with an unstable kneecap.

He also performs Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation Surgery (ACI). This surgery involves growing a patient’s own cartilage cells in a laboratory and re-implanting them to fill a defect caused by injury. This surgery can only be performed in a few specially licenced hospitals within the UK.

Case Studies:

Joe Simpson, A Patient Story

Osteochondral allograft (OCA) with autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI)

All aspects of knee surgery and knee injuries including:

• Arthritic conditions of the knee
• Soft tissue knee conditions
• Sports injuries of the knee and lower limb trauma

• British Orthopaedic Association (BOA)
• British Medical Association (BMA)
• International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS)