Mr Venkat Iyer

Mr. Venkat Iyer is a Neurosurgeon with a comprehensive practice in a wide range of neurosurgical conditions.  He has several years of experience as a consultant in treating complex brain and spinal cord tumours as well as relieving compression of nerves in the spine. The operations he performs routinely include craniotomy for tumours in all parts of the brain and spinal cord as well as procedures for degenerative spinal conditions such as discectomy, laminectomy, lateral recess decompression, formaminotomy and intersegmental decompression. He has a strong passion and interest in the pathophysiology and management of brain tumours and has a doctorate (M.D) in research into brain tumours where he looked at sensitivity of chemotherapeutic agents to tumours grown in the laboratory. 

Mr. Iyer is an integral senior member of Neuro-Oncology Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) at Southmead hospital, overseeing the treatment of a wide range of brain and spinal cord tumours. His expertise extends to both primary and secondary tumours located throughout the brain and spinal cord. He plays a pivotal role in the delivery of oncology services for brain tumour patients, and utilises state of the art technology such as intraoperative MRI scans, intraoperative ultrasound and tractography and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring in precision surgery for brain & spine tumours. He has been the Chair of the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) for the Somerset WIltshire and Gloucester Cancer alliance for the last 12 years and collaborates with cancer specialists across the region including radiotherapy and chemotherapy teams across Bristol, Bath, Somerset and Gloucester. 

He also delivers emergency/urgent neursurgical care for a range of brain and spinal conditions to a population of 3 million adults in collaboration with his neurosurgical colleagues at Southmead hospital. He also diagnoses and treats a variety of degenerative spinal pathologies involving predominatly the cervical and lumbar spine such as cervical and lumbar decompressions, cervical and lumbar discectomies, cervical and lumbar foraminotomies and anterior cervical discectomy & fusion in addition to being one of the select few clinicians to treat rare tumours within the spinal cord.

Mr. Iyer is noted for his leadership in healthcare systems and education, holding a strong consulting portfolio that includes contributions to national neurosurgical education and assessment programs. He is an Examiner for the national and international fellowship examinations in Neurosurgery and is a past member of the Speciality advisory committee (SAC) for training in  neurosurgery. He is a member of the Society of British Neurosurgeons (SBNS), Congress of Neurological surgeons (CNS) and the Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO).