Mr James Langdon

I am a specialist in treating spinal conditions including leg pain (sciatica), arm pain, neck and back pain. I am an expert in managing disc problems and spinal stenosis. When appropriate, I believe in minimal intervention to treat spinal conditions, and where appropriate will exhaust the non-surgical treatment options (including spinal injections) before recommending surgery. I work closely with local physical therapists, radiologists, pain specialists and other health professionals to optimise patients’ treatment prior to undertaking any surgical procedures. I routinely discuss more complex cases with colleagues in our multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meeting.

My main surgical interest is in the use of minimally invasive spinal surgical techniques. I believe that the use of these techniques reduces post-operative pain and length of hospital stay, and improves patient outcomes. I offer a full range of surgical treatments for degenerative spinal conditions including lumbar microdiscectomy, spinal decompression, minimally invasive spinal fusions, anterior cervical decompression and fusion / disc replacement, balloon kyphoplasty, as well as spinal injections. I ensure that I take the time to explain things clearly in easy to understand terms, enabling patients to make informed decisions about their treatment options.

 I qualified from St Mary’s Hospital (Imperial College), London. My post-graduate orthopaedic and spinal training was based at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore. I also undertook a further year-long advanced spinal surgery fellowship. I was appointed as a Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon to West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in 2011, where I was the clinical lead for spinal surgery (2014-23) and the clinical director of the orthopaedic unit (2017-19). I undertake between 150-200 spinal operations per year. I have excellent compliance with data entry into the British Spine Registry with good outcome data.

I am on the GMC specialist register for orthopaedic surgery. I am a member of the British Association of Spinal Surgeons (BASS) and the Spine Society of Europe

I work privately at Spire Harpenden and Spire Bushey Hospitals and at OSD Healthcare in Hemel Hempstead.