Prof Vivien Lees

Who Prof Vivien Lees is

Professor Vivien Lees is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Wythenshawe Hospital) and holds a Clinical Academic Chair in Plastic Surgery at the University of Manchester. She was elected to the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) in 2014, re-elected in 2020, and has served as Senior Vice-President and Lead for Tackling Sexual Misconduct in Surgery from 2024. She graduated from Oxford and Cambridge and took up her consultant post in Manchester in 1997, specialising in hand and wrist surgery. She is known for leading RCS England's response to the 'Breaking the Silence' report on sexual misconduct in surgery, co-authoring the College's Code of Conduct, and publicly challenging the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service over its handling of misconduct cases. She has also led the development of the national plastic surgery curriculum and the postgraduate Diploma and MSc in Hand Surgery.

References for this biography

1. 1.College Council — Royal College of Surgeons of England — Confirms Lees's role as Consultant Plastic Surgeon, election to Council (2014, 2020), Trustee status (2020), and Vice-President from 2023; background on training and previous roles
2. 2.Welcome to our elected Council members — Royal College of Surgeons — Confirms election as Vice President with three-year term from July 2023; identifies her as a consultant plastic surgeon in Manchester and Professor at Wythenshawe Hospital; notes her concern with access to surgical careers
3. 3.RCS England responds to MPTS new guidance — Royal College of Surgeons — Confirms her title as Senior Vice President of RCS England; evidences her public advocacy on sexual misconduct and medical regulation reform
4. 4.New Code of Conduct: tackling sexual misconduct in surgery — Royal College of Surgeons — Confirms her role as Senior Vice-President and Lead for Tackling Sexual Misconduct in Surgery; evidences co-authorship of the 2024 RCS England Code of Conduct
5. 5.Sexual misconduct in surgery — Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England — Confirms her full title as RCS England Senior Vice-President and Lead for Tackling Sexual Misconduct in Surgery; evidences her leadership at the Vascular Society meeting on sexual misconduct (2024)
6. 6.RCS England response to GMC v James Gilbert [2026] — Royal College of Surgeons — Evidences her as a named press spokesperson, quoting her response to the Court of Appeal judgment in a sexual misconduct case
7. 7.Professor Vivien Lees: Plastic surgery in Manchester — Top Doctors — Confirms Hunterian Professorship (2011) for 'Functional Anatomy of the Distal Radioulnar Joint'; training at Oxford and Cambridge; consultant post from 1997
8. 8.Professor Vivien C Lees — Manchester Centre for Plastic Surgery & Burns — Confirms Clinical Academic Professor of Plastic Surgery, University of Manchester; Wythenshawe Hospital practice; former BSSH President 2015; SAC Chair for Plastic Surgery
9. 9.Contact us — Royal College of Surgeons of England — Provides organisational press office contact details (email and phone) and confirms head office address at 38–43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE

Notable achievements

• Awarded a Hunterian Professorship by RCS England in 2011 for work on 'Functional Anatomy of the Distal Radioulnar Joint' Source ↗
• Elected Senior Vice-President of RCS England and appointed Lead for Tackling Sexual Misconduct in Surgery Source ↗
• Co-authored the RCS England Code of Conduct launched in 2024 to tackle sexual misconduct in surgery Source ↗
• Led development of the Postgraduate Diploma in Hand Surgery and MSc in Hand Surgery (BSSH/University of Manchester), establishing a new standard in hand surgical training Source ↗
• Served as President of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) in 2015 Source ↗

What Prof Vivien Lees has said

• “Too often people are drawn in by cut-price deals and glossy online marketing, only to return with serious, sometimes life-changing complications. When things go wrong, the NHS is left to pick up the pieces, often in emergencies and without full information about what surgery was done or by whom.”

  Vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · Cosmetic procedures & aesthetics · 30 Sept 2026 · Urgent warning after at least 12 UK travellers die in Turkey ↗

• “Too often people are drawn in by cut-price deals and glossy online marketing, only to return with serious, sometimes life-changing complications. When things go wrong, the NHS is left to pick up the pieces, often in emergencies and without full information about what surgery was done or by whom.”

  Vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · Cosmetic procedures & aesthetics · 30 Sept 2026 · NHS gives Turkey travel warning after 12 from UK die in just 2 years ↗

• “Trends in cosmetic surgery might change, but the need for patient safety does not. These are complex, invasive procedures that only belong in the hands of trained, regulated surgeons.”

  senior vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · Cosmetic procedures & aesthetics · 30 Sept 2026 · Britain’s cosmetic surgery shift is outpacing patient safety ↗

• “The real test will be in how this guidance will be applied. The current system of medical regulation is failing targets of misconduct. Instead of delivering justice, the system often compounds trauma, allows perpetrators to remain in positions of authority, and ultimately undermines patient care.”

  senior vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · Medical ethics & regulation · 30 Sept 2026 · New guidance on doctors' sexual misconduct cases ↗

• “Our surgical community has long raised concerns about whether sufficient penalties are being applied consistently, particularly in cases where the GMC has pressed for a stronger sanction.”

  senior vice-president of the RCS England · Medical ethics & regulation · 30 Sept 2026 · GMC loses fourth attempt to have transplant surgeon struck off ↗

• “The government should publish its consultation without further delay and take action to ensure that high-risk cosmetic surgery is only carried out by appropriately trained specialist surgeons, giving patients the confidence they deserve.”

  spokesperson on cosmetic surgery at RCS England · Cosmetic procedures & aesthetics · 30 Sept 2026 · Surgeons Warn of 'Regulatory Gap' in Cosmetic Surgery ↗

• “there is a need for "significant systemic reform, including reviewing current sanctions," adding, "the current system of medical regulation has too often failed targets of misconduct".”

  Senior Vice-President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · Medical ethics & regulation · 30 Sept 2026 · Surgeon who sexually and racially harassed junior colleagues free to work again ↗

• “Staff targeted by James Gilbert's behaviour will feel disappointed by today's Court of Appeal judgment. The multiple stages of appeals in this case have compounded the anguish experienced by those targeted.”

  Royal College of Surgeons of England · Medical ethics & regulation · 30 Sept 2026 · Court upholds return of Oxford surgeon who harassed colleagues ↗

• “Patients will rightly assume that anyone performing invasive cosmetic surgery has undergone the specialist surgical training and assessment required to carry out these complex procedures safely. The reality is that the law does not currently guarantee this.”

  spokeswoman on cosmetic surgery for RCS England · Cosmetic procedures & aesthetics · 29 Sept 2026 · 'Serious injuries and avoidable deaths' resulting from lax laws around cosmetic surgery, doctors warn ↗

• “Too often people are drawn in by cut-price deals and glossy online marketing, only to return with serious, sometimes life-changing complications. When things go wrong, the NHS is left to pick up the pieces, often in emergencies and without full information about what surgery was done or by whom.”

  vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS spending up to £19k a time treating people suffering after overseas surgery, research finds ↗

• “many NHS staff do not feel safe reporting sexual misconduct within their own NHS trust”

  Senior vice-president, Royal College of Surgeons of England · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS staff must be protected from abuse | Letters ↗

Where Prof Vivien Lees has been quoted

1. Psychiatrists giving facelifts? Cosmetic surgery needs so...observer.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
2. Urgent warning after at least 12 UK travellers die in Turkeywalesonline.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. NHS gives Turkey travel warning after 12 from UK die in just 2 yearsdailyrecord.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
4. Britain’s cosmetic surgery shift is outpacing patient safetyhealthcaretoday.com · 30 Sept 2026
5. New guidance on doctors' sexual misconduct casesbbc.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
6. GMC loses fourth attempt to have transplant surgeon struck offhealthcare-management.uk · 30 Sept 2026
7. Surgeons Warn of 'Regulatory Gap' in Cosmetic Surgerymedscape.com · 30 Sept 2026
8. Surgeon who sexually and racially harassed junior colleagues free to work againindependent.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
9. Court upholds return of Oxford surgeon who harassed colleaguesbbc.com · 30 Sept 2026
10. 'Serious injuries and avoidable deaths' resulting from lax laws around cosmetic surgery, doctors warnnews.sky.com · 29 Sept 2026
11. NHS spending up to £19k a time treating people suffering after overseas surgery, research findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
12. NHS staff must be protected from abuse | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

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Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.rcseng.ac.uk/about-the-rcs/college-governance/council/
• Press office emailpressoffice@rcseng.ac.ukpublished here ↗
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/viv-lees/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.