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Mr Richard Coombs is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Hammersmith Hospital Trust where for many years he was in administrative charge of the Orthopaedic Unit and in charge of the Accident & Emergency Department. He was also involved in trauma with on-call responsibilities for thirty years. Mr Coombs is also Senior Lecturer in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine. He obtained both his MA in Physiology (First Class Honours) and PhD (collagen biochemistry of Achilles tendon rupture) from Oxford University.

Mr Coombs is an expert in fracture management, including external fixation and the causation and management of spinal pain. He was awarded two prestigious Brite-Euram Research Grants to develop bioresorbable implants for fracture management and hydroxyapatite-coated ceramic spacers, to replace diseased intervertebral discs.

Mr Coombs is actively involved in clinical research. He has co-authored numerous publications and has edited and written several books in the field of orthopaedic surgery. He lectures nationally and internationally and is a member of numerous medical associations.

• Fracture fixation surgery

• Fractures and trauma (lower limb, spine)
• Spinal pain