Mr Scott Rutherford has been a Neurosurgeon in Manchester since his appointment as a Consultant Neurosurgeon at Salford Royal Hospital in 2006. His undergraduate medical training was at The University of Cape Town, where he received an MBChB with Honours in 1994. He then moved to the UK in 1995 to continue his medical training and completed his basic surgical training in Leeds, followed by Neurosurgical training in Leeds and Manchester. He undertook a 1 year specialist fellowship in Skull Base Surgery in 2005, which provided the skills for him to subspecialise in this area.

Mr Rutherford’s sub-specialty interest of skull base surgery principally involves the management of benign tumours occurring at the base of the brain, such as vestibular schwannomas (acoustic neuromas) and meningiomas. Management of such potentially complex problems should always involve a multi-disciplinary team, and Mr Rutherford is the Lead Clinician of the Skull Base Multidisciplinary Team at Salford Royal Hospital.

In addition to the decision-making expertise, treatment of these conditions involves specialised microsurgical techniques to safely reach inaccessible areas of the brain and remove tumours from very sensitive structures. Mr Rutherford has great experience of such surgery, and achieves world-class surgical results.

These microsurgical skills also allow the surgical treatment of other conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm. The surgery entails the separation of blood vessels from the involved nerve, and is usually a cure for the condition.

Mr Rutherford also has a broad general neurosurgical practice. The majority of this practice is degenerative spinal disease and he treats both cervical and lumbar spinal problems. Surgery is often not indicated for this group of patients, but he can recommend appropriate less invasive treatments. For those undergoing surgery, his surgical outcomes are excellent with very high patient satisfaction rates.

Other neurosurgical conditions that he treats include: benign spinal tumours, other benign cranial tumours, hydrocephalus and peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes.

Mr Rutherford has numerous publications arising from clinical research that he has carried out. He has also given invited presentations at national and international conferences on a wide variety of neurosurgical topics. As part of leading the skull base unit in Manchester, Mr Rutherford runs an internationally acclaimed sub-specialty training fellowship, which attracts training fellows from across the world.

Useful links:

• www.brainandspineclinic.com

• Skull base surgery
• Acoustic neuromas
• Meningiomas
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Cervical and lumbar disc surgery
• Cervical spondylosis
• Lumbar spine disorders

• Society of British Neurological Surgeons
• British Skull Base Society
• European Skull Base Society
• Congress of Neurological Surgeons
• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh