Leeds Thoracic Surgery

Consultant Thoracic Surgeon

Honorary Senior Lecturer, Leeds University

Background:  Mr Milton began his medical training in 1988.  He studied at the Sheffield University Medical School and qualified in 1993.  After completing House Officer training at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, he spent the next 4 years undergoing Basic Surgical Training in Liverpool and Sheffield, including an enjoyable year demonstrating anatomy and physiology to Sheffield University medical students (all the more memorable, because this was where he met his future wife).  He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1998, and then spent the next two years undertaking basic science research.

Mr Milton completed Higher Specialist Training in Cardiothoracic Surgery in Yorkshire, subspecialising in Adult Thoracic Surgery.  He passed the formal exit examination in Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2006, and was appointed to a Consultant Thoracic Surgeon post at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust in 2007.

Mr Milton undertakes the full range of thoracic surgical procedures for both benign and malignant disease of the lung and medistinum, pleural space and chest wall.  This includes treatment of patients with cosmetic chest wall pectus deformities, pneumothorax, and hyperhidrosis (excess sweating) of the hands, face and armpits.  As more emphasis is placed on minimally invasive techniques, an increasing number of procedures can now be done thoracoscopically.  Another increasingly sought after treatment is the use of light therapy (photodynamic therapy; PDT) which is used to treat pre-cancerous conditions of the airways and oesophagus, and also to treat invasive cancers in patients who are unfit for major surgery.

Lung cancer unfortunately remains the biggest cause of cancer death in the UK, and the majority of Mr Milton's workload is centred around the diagnosis and surgical management of patients with lung cancer.  One of Mr Milton's aims is to increase the number of patients that undergo surgery for lung cancer.  Mr Milton is also passionate about training and education, both of medical professionals and the general public.

Mr Milton is always looking for the very best and safest ways of performing thoracic surgery and maintains an active programme of continuous professional development and audit.