Danilo Miskovic
PhD FRCS

Danilo Miskovic is a surgeon at St Mark's Hospital, the National Bowel Hospital and at The Wellington Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare UK. He has been a consultant surgeon since 2012 and is internationally recognised as an expert in robotic bowel cancer surgery. His main research interests are on the use of imaging technology in surgery, surgical education and the improvement of cancer treatments.

A Swiss citizen, Danilo studied medicine in Zurich, from where he graduated in 2000. Danilo then trained as a general surgeon at Triemli Hospital, one of the major hospitals in Zurich, before coming to the UK in 2007 as a senior surgical trainee. Following a short humanitarian mission in the Solomon Islands, he was to complete a one-year fellowship in general surgery.

During his senior years of training, he developed a research interest and started a PhD on the implementation of the national training programme in laparoscopic colorectal surgery (Lapco) at Imperial College, London. After graduation in 2011, he completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth. The mentors in his senior years were Professor Amjad Parvaiz and Professor George Hanna, who greatly impacted both his surgical thinking and his skill.

Danilo's first appointment as a consultant was as Associate Professor at St James' Hospital (The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS). He started robotic surgery in 2013, developed a regular robotic practice, and created the John Goligher fellowship in order to train a senior surgical trainee in this technique.

In 2017, he was appointed at St Mark's Hospital (The National Bowel Hospital) and returned to London. He developed a robotic surgery programme at St Mark's and trained his colleagues. Currently, five St Mark's surgeons perform regular robotic procedures.

Danilo is a leading robotic surgery trainer, having trained over 30 surgeons in the UK and Europe, including Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Austria.

Danilo started his private practice at the London Clinic and later at the King Edward VII hospital. During this time he started working regularly with his practice partner, Charles Evans. Together they developed a collaborative way of delivering private practice, and two consultants operating, exchanging ideas and discussing challenging cases became their daily routine.

“I started my journey in robotics in 2013. At this time there were only a few robotic colorectal surgeons and we were often treated as ‘fringe’. How things have changed!

“Currently, there is a significant global shift towards robotic surgery, as more and more scientific evidence and personal experiences emerge, suggesting benefits of robotic surgery in terms of recovery and long-term outcomes. From a personal perspective, I always felt that robotic surgery is the way we should operate – we are dealing with incredibly delicate tissues.

"Although abdominal organs are relatively big and resilient to trauma, the magnified view through the robotic camera reveals the microscopic structures. Preventing surgical trauma is the single most important factor for better recovery after surgery. The robotic instrumentation and images allow me, as a surgeon, to operate with minimal trauma.”

A full list of his scientific contributions can be found on PubMed and ResearchGate.

One of his recent projects involves the 3D reconstruction of radiological images used for surgical planning and developing operative strategies in cancer surgery.