Mr Christopher Lewis

Mr Lewis has practised as a Consultant Plastic, Burns & Reconstructive Surgeon at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne since 2020, and is responsible for the management of children and adults with major burn injuries. Beyond burns, Mr Lewis has a busy general paediatric and adult plastic surgery practice, encompassing vascular malformations, laser and scars. He qualified in 2006, attaining a MBBS (Hons) from Imperial College, London. He has since obtained further qualifications of MRCS, MSc (Burn Care) and FRCS (Plast). Mr Lewis was awarded a PhD from the University of Bradford in 2013. He completed his plastic surgery training in North East England, before completing a Burn & Laser Fellowship in Perth, Western Australia.

Mr Lewis holds subspecialty interests in major burn management, burn reconstruction, plastic surgery trauma, general plastic surgery and the use of lasers for the treatment of scars and vascular malformations.

Mr Lewis is Research Lead for the Northern Regional Burn Centre and has led multiple studies focusing on laser therapy for burn scars, dressings and evaluating the role of artificial intelligence in burn care. His research has earned recognition through the award of study grants from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and through research prizes. His academic background, including a PhD from the University of Bradford, and an MSc in Burn Care, complements his clinical experience. He is regional research liaison for the British Burn Association.

Mr Lewis is the Training Programme Director for plastic surgery at Health Education England (North East) and is responsible for the training of plastic surgery resident doctors. He is regularly invited to speak at national teaching seminars, online lectures and has provided opinions on burn care and scarring for podcasts. He provides voluntary surgical services in Tanzania, visiting annually to train local surgeons and perform burn reconstruction. Mr Lewis is an instructor for the Emergency Management of Severe Burns course.

Mr Lewis has published over 40 original academic and scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and written book chapters on burn care. He has written articles on emerging technologies in burn care, chemical burn decontamination, and the impact of laser on burn scars as well as novel burn reconstruction techniques. In the wider field of skin biology, Mr Lewis has published articles on advances in wound epigenetics and stem cells in wound healing.

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Mr Lewis leads the plastic surgery laser service and has initiated service development initiatives, including expanding and improving patient access to innovative scar treatments. He also serves as the Chair of the Burns Special Interest Advisory Group (BAPRAS) and as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, where he manages the review of manuscripts on burns and paediatric surgery.

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