Mike McErlain
FRCS Orth
Mike is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon with specialist interest in Spine and Trauma surgery. His focuses in Spinal surgery are Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty, Sports Spinal disorders, degenerative spinal disorders, tumour surgery, and trauma, including cervical spine trauma.
Mike lived up in Scotland on the west coast as a child. He and his family moved south to the Fleet area where he went to a local school for a short period until gaining a scholarship to the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore. He studied International Baccalaureate there as the British Scholar and after a year out where he worked in a hospital in India as an aid worker, he went to University in Aberdeen, where he with a research BSc as well as his medical degree.
Mike joined the Army as a medical student and served as Regimental Medical Officer to 1st Bn The Parachute Regiment. Subsequently he went in to Surgical training and trained in the Bristol area focusing on Spinal surgery in his last year. He then undertook fellowships in Trauma Surgery in Melbourne Australia, and in Spinal surgery in Exeter.
Mike started in Frimley Park in June 2008 but served in Iraq for 3 months shortly after starting. He now does routine spinal surgery but also undertakes trauma and tumour work as necessary, working closely with the two other spinal surgeons at Frimley Park Hospital. He also works at Clare Park Hospital and the Hampshire clinic.
He runs a Spinal/Sports Medicine multi-disciplinary clinic monthly at Headley Court, focusing on soldiers in military training and soldiers who undertake high level competitive sports with spinal disorders. This is a challenging undertaking with benefits from what is learned at that clinic for civilian patients also.
Pass-times include Skiing, distance running and mountaineering. Mike has run the Marathon des Sables and does a run of 44 miles along the Normandy Beaches on D-Day, 6th June every year, to raise money for the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association.