Sunny grew up in London and went to Birmingham Medical School, graduating in 1989. He worked in Birmingham, Worcester & Oxford, before spending a year in the Trauma Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town 1994-5. He was awarded the Norman Capener Fellowship for this. He completed his higher surgical training (HST) in Orthopaedics and Trauma on the Oxford Regional Training Programme 1995 to 2001, the last year as an Orthopaedic Trauma Fellow at Vancouver General Hospital / University of British Columbia.  

Sunny was appointed as a Consultant in Trauma and Orthopaedics at Swindon in October 2001 and has been a dedicated member of the team ever since. Initially appointed to develop the role of principal knee surgeon, his practice has evolved significantly over the years. Transitioning from a generalist with a special interest in knee surgery, he is now a specialist knee surgeon with a focused interest in orthopaedic trauma involving the knee.

Since 2014, his elective practice has been exclusively knee-related, while his trauma work has increasingly centred on injuries in and around the knee joint.

Sunny has also held several key leadership and educational roles. He served as the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s Surgical Tutor for the Trust from 2003 to 2010 and has been the Clinical Lead for the Trauma Unit since 2011. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Departmental Clinical Lead for Trauma and Orthopaedics.

In 2017–18, he undertook a nine-month honorary consultant role in Orthopaedic Trauma at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire. In 2019, he was appointed Surgical Clinical Lead for a proposed new rehabilitation centre at the Great Western Hospital site.

His knee practice encompasses conditions, injuries and ages. This therefore includes young adults with sports or developmental issues through to older patients with arthritic conditions to dealing with revision knee replacements and failed joint replacements. This includes the assessment, diagnosis, counselling and delivering surgical and non-surgical treatments.

He has continued research, clinical teaching, surgical training and supervision roles. His main areas of active research centre on patient diagnosis, clinical complexity and its implications and patient outcomes following surgical and non-surgical treatments, with an increased emphasis on this over the past few years.

His principle operative elective practice is surgery of the knee and includes:

• Soft tissue arthroscopic surgery,
• ligament reconstruction,
• primary and revision knee replacement surgery including partial joint replacements
• lower limb osteotomy surgery around the knee
• revision ligament and joint replacement surgery

Within orthopaedic trauma his main specialisation is acute knee injuries, periarticular and periprosthetic lower limb fracture surgery around the knee.

He has been using hylan and PRP injections for selected patients for over a decade. He’s keen to expand the use of injections that can potentially avoid or delay major joint surgery for appropriate patients and sees Arthrosamid as a valuable new treatment to achieve this.

Sunny’s key patient management philosophy is to provide patients with as accurate an assessment as possible and to strive to relieve symptoms, restore function and minimise risks, complications and deterioration. Defining diagnoses and working through patients' problems in a holistic and evidence based is a key component of this and has been frequently cited by patients in their feedback.

Mr. Deo has an impressive academic portfolio, with 35 peer-reviewed journal publications, 4 orthopaedic textbook chapters and over 150 presentations at national and international conferences, primarily showcasing his original research.

He has recently established an exciting interdisciplinary research collaboration with the University of Bath’s Departments of Health and Engineering. Notably, he was the 1st full-time clinician within his Trust to have a paid research role, reflecting his commitment to advancing clinical knowledge and innovation.

His current main research interests are:

• Clinical complexity factors affecting the outcomes of surgery

• Previously unrecognised diagnostic complexity factors

• Creating a novel platform to capture this information to provide greater clarity to patients and health systems.

• His collaboration with the Bath University group has focused on the effects of ACL surgery on bone and muscle conditioning

In addition to his research work, Mr. Deo co-leads a unique multidisciplinary clinic focused on complex knee conditions and pain management  -  a relatively rare and highly specialised service.

He continues to teach, train and mentor junior doctors, students and other professions both formally and informally. He has taught on national and international course faculties over the past 2 decades and continues to do so. He’s a member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Society, BASK, BOA and the Girdlestone Orthopaedic Society.

Sunny lives in the Cotswolds, with his wife, and enjoys the great outdoors, and continues to run, ski, play 5aside football and tennis. He enjoys travel, histories of all kinds and the theatre.

Patient Testimonials 

"Since the injection, my knee has felt brilliant - virtually pain-free with much more flexibility. It’s the best it has felt in years. On longer walks, I do notice a slight ache, but overall, the improvement has been significant, especially in conjunction with the unloader knee brace. It has made a real difference to my daily life." - Patient at the Ridgeway Hospital

Special interest and expertise in knee surgery ranging from common sports knee injuries to complex ligament reconstructions, joint surface operations and joint replacements. This includes partial, total and revision replacements.

Common conditions he treats are: 

• Meniscal (cartilage) and joint surface (chondral) damage
• Knee ligament injuries particularly to the anterior cruciate and medial patello-femoral ligaments
• Multi-ligament injuries
• Patellar instability and recurrent dislocations
• Tendonitis of the main tendons around the knee
• Treatment of early osteoarthritis utilising non-steroid injections, bracing or osteotomies around the knee to offload arthritis and optimise leg alignment
• Treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis of all causes, ranging from single compartment disease to severe deforming forms of the disease
• Loose or otherwise failing joint replacements

• British Orthopaedic Association
• British Association for Surgery of the Knee
• British Trauma Society
• RCS England
• RCS Edinburgh