Your private health insurance
Circle Health Group works with all major UK health insurance providers. Simply let your provider know your chosen hospital to begin your treatment journey.
Background and Training
Peter Barry gained his fellowship in general surgery from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1997. He then undertook clinical fellowships in surgical oncology in Sydney and London at the Royal Marsden Hospital 1998-2001 in sarcoma (rare cancers), melanoma and breast surgery.
He practiced as a surgical oncologist, oncoplastic breast and endocrine surgeon in Australia until 2012 when he returned to the Royal Marsden Hospital as a consultant oncoplastic surgeon.
Mr Barry’s expertise is incorporating complex oncoplastic techniques to optimise cancer-related outcomes whilst addressing the patient’s aesthetic needs and minimising risks and complications of treatment.
In his NHS practice at the Royal Marsden Hospital, he commenced and developed the perforator flap service for partial breast volume replacement. He also developed methods for targeted axillary dissection (selective lymph node removal for cancer). He leads trials of new devices for localisation of breast lesions to facilitate complex breast conservation surgery for cancer and innovations in breast implants for immediate reconstruction.
Mr Barry’s focus is on identifying patient priorities. From the first consultation he assesses individual patient aims and in a shared decision-making process, will plan tailored management aligned to patient goals.
This is achieved within a multidisciplinary framework ensuring appropriate referrals within a network of experts in the team. He interfaces closely with clinical geneticists, radiologists, medical oncologists and plastic and reconstructive surgeons as well as breast care nurses, physiotherapists, lymphoedema practitioners, liaison psychologists and experts in pain medicine and acupuncture.
He is an internationally renowned speaker and tutor on oncoplastic breast surgical techniques and concepts. At the Royal Marsden, he trains international surgical fellows in these oncoplastic techniques.
He has an interest in breast cancer biology and tumour evolution as well as liquid biopsy and circulating tumour markers. He is very closely involved in international collaborative research within the breast surgical community and has over 50 peer reviewed publications.
Services offered include expertise in diagnosing and treating various breast conditions.
Speciality focus: Benign breast issues, high risk patients, new breast cancer diagnosis, oncoplastic reconstructive surgery and those with complications from prior cancer treatments.
Advanced imaging: As part of his routine clinical practice, he utilises 3D MRI for complex breast conservation and hand-held ultrasound for detailed surgical planning and symptom troubleshooting.
Procedures: All aspects of breast related surgical treatment are offered.
• oncoplastic techniques for breast conservation including breast lift and reduction procedures as part of cancer removal
• volume replacement using local perforator flaps and lipomodelling / fat transfer.
• In the most challenging situations, he combines these techniques to optimise cancer and cosmetic outcomes for patients.
• ‘conservative’ (skin / nipple-sparing) mastectomy for both risk reduction in high-risk women (such as those who have a germline high risk inherited gene) or those with established breast cancer or pre-cancerous change combined with immediate breast reconstruction (implant-based).
• Matching procedures for the unaffected breast are offered during the same procedure using a buddy system with a trusted colleague (Dr Ntakomyti).
• He collaborates extensively with his plastic surgical colleagues to also offer immediate autologous reconstruction (e.g. DIEP) using patients’ native tissues.
Mr Barry is a strong advocate for simplifying treatment for breast cancer both in the breast and for lymph node surgery. He believes that less aggressive lymph node surgery should be carried out –only removing abnormal lymph nodes where possible to reduce risks such as lymphoedema.
• highly precise procedures such as sentinel node removal is offered as an option where appropriate.
• Targeted axillary dissection
• locally recurrent breast cancer procedures and re-do axillary (armpit) and lower neck lymph node surgery for cancer relapse following prior treatment
lipo-modelling (fat grafting) for
• breast contour deformities
• other forms of scarring after previous breast cancer treatment
• scars from ports,
• radiotherapy-related problems
• chemotherapy scarring of arm veins.
use of local flaps for breast deformity following prior cancer surgery.
Key surgical benchmarks:
Implant loss rate <1% (national average 13%)
Breast conservation rate >90%
Margin re-excision rate (2nd surgery) in breast conservation <5% (national target 20%)
Buddy System at Blackheath
My consultant surgical colleague, Miss Eleni Ntakomyti and I are providing a team-based approach to patients’ clinical care with cross-cover of clinics, joint consultations and a team-based approach to surgical procedures to reduce the duration of operations and give patients the highest quality care at all times.
Patient testimonials
“Thank you for your incredible still and kindness during my surgery.
I'm so grateful for the excellent care you provided. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas.”
“Dear Mr. Barry
You are a wonderful surgeon but mare than that you are a very kind and considerate man, right from the start you went above and beyond to explain and make me feel that i was in safe hands. I genuinely believe that all your patients are listened to and you take or board their worries and concerns and try to ease them as much as possible. What really helped me was being able to whatsapp you each morning with my readings etc.
Thank you for looking after me at such a difficult time. Whoever you treat will be in the best hands.
Many thanks.”
“Mr Barry & the Team
Thank you so much for the kind and professional care. It really made a difference to be looked after by such an amazing team!
Sending best wishes.”
“With Heartfelt Thanks to Mr Peter Barry for Your Exceptional Care, Kindness, and for Being a Truly Caring Person.”
“Dear Mr Barry
I wanted to send a personal card to express my deepest gratitude to you for the exceptional care you have given me throughout my treatment at QEH Woolwich and The Royal Marsden, Sutton. From the very beginning I felt reassured by your expertise, calm manner and genuine compassion you showed.
Your skill and dedication together with the support of a strong team gave me the confidence and strength I needed during an incredibly difficult time. What stood out most was not only your medical excellence but also the way you made me feel truly cared for as a person.
I am so grateful for the role you played in saving my life from breast cancer. There are no words that can fully capture the relief, hope and gratitude I feel but please know how much your work has meant to me and my loved ones.
Thank you so much tor everything you do and for making such a lasting difference
in my life. with heartfelt thanks and appreciation.
forever grateful,”
The Blackheath Hospital, 40 - 42 Lee Terrace, Blackheath, SE3 9UD
Our private hospital offers treatments and services for those who live in Greenwich, Lewisham and Bexley4692715
A General Medical Council (GMC) number is a unique ID that shows a specialist is officially registered and approved to practice medicine in the UK.
We want to make it as easy as possible for you to find the information you need, so we've gathered a list of frequently asked questions about our hospitals and services
You can either book an consultation via the online booking process, fill in the enquiry form, or give us a call at 0808 101 0337.
Find out how much private healthcare costs and how these prices break down.
Whether you have your own private medical insurance policy or are covered through your employer, we'll guide you through how to make a claim for treatment at a Circle Hospital.
The number one benefit of private healthcare for most people is that you'll experience a shorter waiting time for treatment. We don't have long waiting lists, and in general you'll simply get treatment as and when you need it.
As a private patient, you shouldn't experience long waits between appointments. We can usually offer you an initial consultation within days of you getting in touch, and we'll book you in for the treatments you need on a date and time that suits you.
Still not answered your question?
Read our full FAQs here