Mr Adam Stearns

Mr Adam Stearns is a highly experienced Consultant in General and Colorectal Surgery at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital, where he has been practising since 2016. He specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the bowel, rectum and anus, and is known for his expertise in managing changes in bowel habit, rectal bleeding, haemorrhoids, anal fistulae, fissures, pilonidal disease, and rectal prolapse.

Alongside his work in benign disease, Mr Stearns has extensive experience in the management of colorectal cancer, neuroendocrine tumours and complex colorectal pathology. He is an advanced laparoscopic surgeon and performs minimally invasive procedures for the majority of patients requiring major colorectal surgery, helping to support faster recovery, less pain and shorter hospital stays.

He also has wide expertise in functional bowel disorders, including incontinence, soiling and obstructed defaecation, as well as diverticular disease and inflammatory bowel disease requiring surgical assessment. In addition, he frequently treats appendix-related conditions and collaborates closely with national specialist centres when needed. His practice also includes the full range of hernia surgery, including inguinal, umbilical, femoral and incisional hernias. As an accredited screening colonoscopist for the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, he is highly skilled in the endoscopic detection and removal of benign polyps and in ruling out serious pathology.

Mr Stearns studied medicine at the University of Oxford, qualifying in 2002 before completing basic surgical training in Glasgow. He went on to undertake a three-year research fellowship at Harvard Medical School, leading to the award of a DPhil from Oxford. His higher surgical training was completed in the East of England, followed by prestigious fellowships in advanced laparoscopic colorectal surgery at St Mark’s Hospital in London and in peritoneal malignancy surgery at The Christie in Manchester.

At Norfolk & Norwich, he played a central role in establishing surgery for colorectal peritoneal metastases, making it the first centre in the East of England to offer cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. He has also held several key leadership roles, including Service Director for General and Thoracic Surgery, Chair of the Colorectal Cancer MDT, and Lead for the Lower Gastrointestinal 2-Week-Wait pathway.

Mr Stearns remains active in national and international research, with particular interests in quality of life after colorectal surgery and the management of advanced colonic cancer. He regularly lectures at professional meetings and teaches on national and European courses in advanced colorectal techniques, contributing to the development of future surgeons and the continual improvement of patient care.