Royal Surrey Surgical Pioneer receives Legion d’Honneur from President Sarkozy

Professor Michael Bailey, who has worked at and with the Royal Surrey County Hospital as Professor of Surgery and Consultant Surgeon for more than 30 years, has been presented with one of the highest honours in France by President Sarkozy at a ceremony at the Élysée Palace in Paris (28^th March 2012).

Professor Bailey is the first British Healthcare Professional to receive a Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur and has been recognised for his services to and pioneering work in the field of laparoscopic surgery.

Most notable of Professor Bailey’s achievements is the establishment of the Minimal Access Therapy Training Unit (MATTU) in 1995.  The Royal Surrey was one of three centres in the UK to be awarded government funding to establish a key-hole surgery teaching centre and MATTU, which is linked to the Royal College of Surgeons, was established by Professor Bailey and his colleague Professor Chris Sutton. Professor Bailey is still President of the Unit, which has a National and International reputation for teaching laparoscopic surgery to surgeons from across the world.  MATTU is now the UK’s largest and most advanced centre of excellence for laparoscopic surgery.

Commenting on his award Professor Bailey said:

“I am immensely proud to have been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur and to have my work recognised by France. I have spent more than 30 years developing and advancing new surgical techniques and laparoscopic surgery, and teaching and training hundreds of surgeons from around the world.  Laparoscopic surgery has transformed the way we operate on patients today and millions of people have benefitted from much less invasive surgery and much faster recovery times.  Due to the advances, patients who have undergone major abdominal surgery can go home on the same day.” 

Professor Bailey has received the Legion d’Honneur from France for the role he has played in teaching thousands of French doctors about laparoscopic surgery over the last 20 years.  He has worked with French surgeons since the early 90s and is currently a member of the teaching faculty at the European Institute of Telesurgery in Strasbourg. 

Professor Bailey retired as a full time consultant at the Royal Surrey in 2008, but continues to hold an honorary contract with the Trust.  He is also a Professor of Surgery at The University of Surrey’s Postgraduate Medical School. He was a consultant surgeon at Royal Surrey for 30 years and also practiced at the Nuffield Health Guildford Hospital.

Professor Nariman Karanjia, Professor of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery at the Royal Surrey added;

“Without a doubt Professor Michael Bailey has put Surrey on the map in the international medical world.  A brilliant upper gastrointestinal surgeon and technical innovator, he quickly recognised the benefits of minimal access surgery and was one of the first in the UK to embrace this.

“In a glittering career spanning more than 30 years as a consultant surgeon, he has been President of the Section of Surgery of the Royal Society of Medicine and President of the Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. He holds the accolade of having won the Moynihan Prize, the highest award of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, twice.

“A surgical giant, with an unparalleled capacity for hard work, he has contributed hugely in his own country to his patients, to his profession and on the world stage to surgical training. He has finally been recognised for his phenomenal contribution overseas, with the award of Legion d’honneur”

 His most recent focus has been on working with research fellows from Surrey University’s Postgraduate Medical School to develop a 3D system for operations, aimed at making procedures even more efficient. The Surrey-based MATTU is the first centre in the world to use this 3D system for operations and Professor Bailey and his team aim to continually focus on advancing laparoscopic surgery.