About me
What I do
I am a Consultant Reconstructive Plastic Surgeon based in South Wales, with a specialist practice in hand and wrist surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, and limb reconstruction. My private practice in Cardiff closely mirrors my NHS practice at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery in Swansea. I manage a range of conditions, including the generality of hand and wrist surgery, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, Dupuytren’s contracture, tendon problems, basal thumb arthritis and more complex reconstruction or nerve problems, such as cubital tunnel syndrome or traumatic injuries.
“I often receive referrals from other hand surgeons regarding patients with ongoing pain and functional problems following nerve injury or previous surgery.”
I am the designated plastic surgeon for the Swansea Artificial Limb Centre and consequently perform all amputation stump revision procedures for the South West Wales population. This includes surgery for bony overgrowth, nerve pain problems such as neuroma, and issues with soft tissue padding or scarring.
I also have a keen interest in reconstruction following trauma, and work closely with Orthopaedic Trauma colleagues to manage the most complex skin, soft tissue and bony problems with a team-based approach. This often requires transplantation of skin, muscle or bone from one part of the body to another and re-establishing the blood supply using microsurgical techniques.
I was one of only six international fellows selected to spend over a year learning cutting-edge microsurgical reconstructive techniques at a world-renowned centre in Taiwan under Professor Fu-Chan Wei (魏福全) and his colleagues.
My training
I qualified from Cambridge in 2001, then worked in plastic surgery units in Leicester, Birmingham, Coventry and Swansea. Towards the end of my training in 2012 – 2014, in addition to my time in Taiwan, I completed a specialist fellowship in orthopaedic hand and wrist surgery in the Auckland Hand Unit, Middlemore Hospital, New Zealand.
Further subspecialist training was gained from a visiting fellowship to St. Louis, Missouri USA to learn advanced peripheral nerve surgery from another world expert, Professor Susan Mackinnon. I was entered onto the GMC Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery in 2015.
I am now heavily involved with teaching and training the next generation of plastic surgeons.
I have co-authored a text book, Key Notes on Plastic Surgery, which was Highly Commended at the 2015 BMA Book Awards and is very popular with senior trainees around the world as they approach their final consultant exams.
I am a full member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand and was elected to Council in 2022. I currently sit on the Instructional Course Committee and was on the Education and Training Committee 2018 – 2021. You will find me listed as invited faculty on a number of national and international training and educational courses. I am also a peer-reviewer of new research articles submitted to the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery.
I am bilingual in Welsh and English and happy to conduct consultations in either language.
Qualifications
MB BChir This is the basic medical degree – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery – awarded by the University of Cambridge, which I passed in 2001 with Distinction in Surgery.
MA (Cantab) During my time at Cambridge, I was awarded a degree in Neuroscience. It is a peculiarity of Cambridge that all undergraduate courses lead to a BA (Bachelor of Arts), despite studying a science degree. The Cambridge MA (Master of Arts) is a degree conferred by right on holders of a BA (Hons) a few years after graduation.
MSc This is a Master of Science post-graduate degree in Trauma Surgery awarded by Swansea University, which I passed in 2007 with Distinction.
FRCS (Plast) The Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (Plastic Surgery) is awarded towards the end of a specialist training scheme after passing a rigorous exam. It indicates that my training, qualifications and competence meet the high standards demanded by the Royal College of Surgeons.
Affiliations
“I think of Mr Dafydd as someone who is very much patient centred and has a caring attitude. I hold him and his professional skills in high regard and wholeheartedly recommend him”
— Lisa, 58. Peripheral nerve surgery patient