Board members

Co-Director of Trainee Liaison

Nasra Alam is a post-CCT Abdominal Wall Reconstruction (AWR) Surgery Fellow at Arrowe Park, having completed her General and Colorectal Surgery training in the North West of England in 2025.
She has a strong interest in hernia surgery, particularly abdominal wall reconstruction, and has presented widely at hernia conferences and courses. As a member of the Biomesh Study Group in 2015, she contributed to several publications and co-authored a consensus review on the use of biologic and biosynthetic meshes in defined clinical settings..

Congress Secretary Mr Dimitrios Damaskos, FRCSEd, FEBSEmSurg, FACS, is a Consultant General Surgeon in Edinburgh with specialist expertise in emergency surgery and abdominal wall reconstruction. Appointed at NHS Lothian in 2017 following a fellowship in Emergency General Surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, he combines a busy clinical practice with major roles in surgical

Website, Membership and communications Mr Jayamanna qualified from University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka and after basic training there, he moved to the UK and continued higher surgical training In South Wales. He is currently a Specialist Surgeon in Emergency and General Surgery at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in Newport. He is highly committed

Education Secretary Miss Oroog Ali is a colorectal and robotic surgeon based in the North East of England. She has a keen interest in education and training conducting national surgical courses, conferences and training days. She is a surgical mentor to students and trainees and has obtained the NHS Leadership Academy Award with a completed

Ordinary board member Toby Hammond is a Consultant General & Colorectal Surgeon at the Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. He performs open & laparoscopic surgery for groin and abdominal wall hernias, inflammatory bowel disease and diverticular disease. He has a subspecialty interest in abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) for complex and recurrent abdominal wall

Database and registries lead Liam Horgan is a laparoscopic upper gastro-intestinal surgeon working in Northumbria Healthcare Trust with a special interest in day case hernia and gallbladder surgery. Liam qualified from University College, Cork in 1985. He moved to NE Thames for his higher surgical training and was a research fellow at the Royal Free

Secretary Praminthra Chitsabesan is a Laparoscopic Colorectal and General Surgeon with specialist experience in Cancer, Pelvic floor disease and Abdominal wall reconstruction. He completed his training in the North-Eastern Deanery and then a fellowship in Basingstoke as a Laparoscopic and Advanced Malignancy Open Colorectal Fellow. He is currently the Colorectal Lead for Humber Coast and

Past President David Sanders is a consultant upper GI surgeon and clinical lead for Upper GI Surgery and the Abdominal Wall service at North Devon Hospital in Barnstaple. He completed specialty laparoscopic upper GI training in the South West of England and a trauma fellowship in South Africa. His doctorate thesis was on the influence

President Stella Smith is a Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon in Manchester with a trauma background. She has a dedicated interest in abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR). During her post- CCT fellowship in Trauma in Nottingham, she developed decision-making and technical skills in AWR. Whilst undertaking a Trauma Fellowship in Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, she