Mr Craig Mackay

Mr Craig Mackay is a Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. He sees private patients at Albyn Hospital. He graduated in Medicine from the University of Aberdeen in 2007 and has 19 years of experience.

Mr Mackay’s NHS practice centres on colorectal cancer surgery. He pioneered robotic TAMIS (transanal minimally invasive surgery) in Scotland, becoming the first surgeon in the country to offer this procedure, and was the first surgeon in NHS Grampian to undertake robotic inguinal hernia repair.

Mr Mackay is an expert endoscopist, JAG accredited in both colonoscopy and upper GI endoscopy, with more than 2,000 colonoscopies performed. His endoscopic practice covers diagnostic and screening colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, gastroscopy, and polypectomy, and he is a member of the complex polyp team at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, managing polyps referred from across the region that are too large or challenging for standard removal. He is a past faculty member of the National Endoscopy Training Programme, and has trained colonoscopists across Scotland.

His private practice at Albyn Hospital focuses on the investigation of bowel symptoms such as rectal bleeding, altered bowel habit, and abdominal pain, and the treatment of perianal conditions including haemorrhoids, anal fistulas, and anal fissures. He also undertakes inguinal and umbilical hernia surgery.

Prior to studying medicine, Mr Mackay completed a degree in Physiology and Sports Science at the University of Glasgow, reflecting a long-standing interest in health, fitness, and lifestyle medicine — and in particular the role these play in preventing colorectal disease and improving recovery from surgery. He was later awarded a Cancer Research UK–funded PhD from the University of Dundee for research into cell signalling pathways in the development of colorectal cancer, and he maintains an active research output, publishing regularly in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at international conferences. He is a member of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) and the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP).

Mr Mackay believes in early diagnosis and timely intervention, and takes time to ensure his patients understand their condition and the options available to them.