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Mr Henry Colaço is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who specialises in reconstructive and sports shoulder and elbow surgery and complex upper limb trauma including hand and wrist injuries. He is the Clinical Lead for Upper Limb Surgery at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and a founder member of the Shoulder Practice and The London Shoulder Meeting.

He firmly believes in a patient-centred approach to treatment and collection of functional outcome data in order to tailor operative and non-operative techniques to the individual. When surgery is required, he uses novel techniques including awake shoulder surgery, 3D templating for joint replacement surgery, and minimally invasive techniques where possible to achieve optimal results and faster rehabilitation.

He has experience of managing high profile individuals; actors, musicians, and professional athletes including footballers, Saracens, Harlequins, and England International rugby players. He has an interest in developing novel techniques of reconstructive arthroscopic (keyhole) surgery, including management of bone loss in shoulder instability, strategies for irreparable rotator cuff tears and biceps tendon injuries.

After graduating from Imperial College School of Medicine with Distinction in Surgery, he completed his surgical and orthopaedic training in London teaching hospitals, including fellowship posts in shoulder & elbow surgery at University College Hospital, and complex upper limb surgery at St George’s Hospital. He was awarded the prestigious BESS Travelling Fellowship which he undertook in Paris and Lyon, and was appointed as a Locum Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at University College London in 2016.

In 2017, he was appointed as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, where he is a surgical trainer, and Clinical Lead for upper limb surgery. He is the lead researcher for trials of a micro-arthroscopic camera, a fixation plate for distal radius fractures, and is involved in a trial of a novel plate for clavicle fixation. He is a site investigator for the NIHR-funded ProFHER-2, SCIENCE, and SOFFT randomised controlled trials.

He is a former member of the BESS Education Committee and founding member of the BESS Simulation Working Group. Since receiving the ‘Innovation in Simulation’ Award from the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) in 2015, he has continued his work to use simulation to enhance surgical skills training and improve patient safety. He developed a surgical skills course for UCL medical students and is working with industry partners to create a surgical skills simulation centre for the Wessex region.

In 2015 he was appointed as a Member of the Faculty of Surgical Trainers of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and is involved in teaching and training at regional, national and international courses. Since 2015, he has organised the annual London Shoulder Meeting which has grown to become the largest independent shoulder and elbow conference in the UK. In September 2018, he chaired the shoulder & elbow educational and scientific sessions at the BOA Centenary Conference. He is an invited reviewer for a number of international journals including Bone & Joint Journal and Shoulder & Elbow, and in 2020 he was honoured to join the Editorial Board of the Journal of Arthroscopy.

Diseases, Medical Tests and Treatments

Sports Injury & Elective Surgery

• Shoulder replacement
• Revision shoulder replacement
• Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair
• Arthroscopic subacromial decompression
• Arthroscopic acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) excision
• Arthroscopic capsular release
• Arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation (Bankart Repair)
• Arthroscopic labral repair / SLAP repair
• Biceps tenodesis
• Arthroscopic superior capsular reconstruction
• Arthroscopic subacromial balloon spacer
• Arthroscopic bone block (Eden-Hybinette) procedure
• Latarjet (coracoid transfer) procedure
• Acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) reconstruction
• Elbow arthroscopy for arthritis / post-traumatic stiffness
• Tennis elbow release / repair
• Golfer's elbow release / repair
• Elbow ligament reconstruction
• Cubital tunnel (ulnar nerve) release
• Carpal tunnel (median nerve) release
• Wrist arthroscopy
• Skier's thumb reconstruction (1ct MCPJ ulnar collateral ligament repair)
• Dupuytren's fasciectomy
• Trapeziectomy +/- stabilisation
• Trigger finger release

Trauma

• Clavicle fracture fixation
• Scapula fracture fixation
• Acromioclavicular joint stabilisation
• Proximal humerus fracture fixation
• Humeral shaft fracture fixation
• Distal humerus fracture fixation
• Radial head fracture fixation / replacement
• Olecranon fracture fixation
• Forearm (radius/ulna) fracture fixation
• Wrist (distal radius) fracture fixation
• Hand fracture fixation (e.g. scaphoid, metacarpal, phalanx)
• Hand tendon repair
• Skier's thumb stabilisation (1ct MCPJ ulnar collateral ligament repair)
• Hand tendon transfer (e.g. EIP to EPL)
• Shoulder pain
• Shoulder arthritis
• Shoulder instability
• Labral injuries
• SLAP tears
• Long head of biceps tendinopathy / tears
• Rotator cuff tendinopathy
• Rotator cuff tears
• Irreparable rotator cuff tears
• Partial thickness rotator cuff tears
• Subacromial impingement syndrome / bursitis
• Acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) osteoarthritis
• Glenohumeral (shoulder) osteoarthritis
• Glenohumeral (shoulder) rheumatoid arthritis
• Rotator cuff arthropathy
• Bankart lesions
• Clavicle fractures
• Proximal humerus fractures
• ACJ injuries
• Frozen shoulder
• Scapulothoracic dysrhythmia
• Snapping scapula syndrome
• Failed previous arthroscopic surgery
• Failed previous joint replacement surgery​
• Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
• Golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis)
• Elbow instability
• Elbow osteoarthritis
• Elbow rheumatoid arthritis
• Elbow stiffness
• Elbow dislocations
• Elbow fractures (radial head, olecranon, distal humerus)
• Distal biceps tendon ruptures
• Triceps injuries
• Ulnar nerve entrapment (cubital tunnel syndrome)
• Forearm (radius & ulna) fractures
• Distal radius (wrist) fractures
• Wrist injuries
• Scaphoid fractures
• Metacarpal fractures
• Phalangeal (finger) fractures
• Phalangeal (finger) dislocations
• Tendon injuries and lacerations
• Wrist ligament injuries
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Trigger finger
• Dupuytren's disease