In this edition of our Meet the Team series, we get to know Mr Amit Kumar, our resident Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, and founder of the Manchester Lumps Clinic. He’s sometimes affectionately referred to as the Kingpin of Lumps, and the Pimple Popper by his patients!
Where did you study?
I went to Royal Free and University College Medical school. Following my undergraduate medical degree and specialist BSc Hons in orthopaedic science, I came back to my roots in Manchester for my basic surgical training. My specialist orthopaedic training was on the East Midlands Leicester rotation from 2009 which then followed with fellowships in arthroplasty and sarcoma in Leicester, Nottingham and Wrightington. I was appointed as a Consultant at Manchester royal infirmary in 2016.
What is your specific area of expertise?
My specific area of expertise is orthopaedic oncology. This involves diagnosing and managing complex soft tissue and bone tumours both benign and cancerous thus my work in Sarcomas. My other area of interest is in developing pathways across Manchester in Metastatic bone disease (cancers which spread to bone from other primary sites).
What made you pursue your career path?
I developed an interest in orthopaedic surgery form a very early stage in medical school. I enjoyed using hammers and drills! Through my training I developed my passion for hip and knee replacement surgery. Being able to offer patients the ability to walk pain free gives me the great satisfaction. As patients with joints and limb problems can present with soft tissue or bone swellings I got really interested in oncology and thus focussed on that area during my training and after qualifying. Treating cancer patients gives me the biggest satisfaction in my job.
What makes you passionate about your career and the industry?
I am passionate about making pathways and treatment better for patients. I am the clinical director for the last 5 years in Greater Manchester Cancer for Sarcoma and also currently clinical lead at Manchester university hospital. We are currently undergoing some exciting transformation developing new pathways across Greater Manchester to enable patients to be seen and diagnosed faster and managed efficiently.
Pathways? What are they?
A clinical pathway can be considered as a type of care plan. It’s a clearly defined plan, involving all necessary parties, on how to deal with a specified medical condition that has predictable course of development. Pathways can range from simple (e.g. what medication to use) to complex treatment plans involving a number of professionals. Clinical pathways help to ensure treatments are consistently applied across different clinicians and best practices are used, thus raising the overall quality standard.
Tell us about your interests outside of work
My interests include watching the mighty Manchester United at Old Trafford and playing cricket for our local club. This gives me ample down time and distraction in such a busy hectic life!
What is different or better about the services that Manchester Lumps Clinic provides compared to similar providers?
The uniqueness of Manchester lumps clinic is that it offers a bespoke service to all types of patients catering for all their needs. It is constantly evolving going from strength to strength particularly with the great team consultants we have working in collaboration, best for patients.
