Mr Alan Farthing

Mr Alan Farthing is a Consultant Gynaecologist who specialises in complex surgery. In particular he is one of the country's most experienced laparoscopic (keyhole) surgeons and many of his patients have been referred by other gynaecologists because of his surgical expertise.

Mr Farthing qualified from St Georges Hospital Medical School in 1986 and worked at Guy's, Hammersmith and St Mary’s Hospitals in Obstetrics and Gynaecology before gaining specific training in the surgical management of gynaecologic malignancies in Perth and Sydney, Australia. He was there when laparoscopic surgery first became possible and brought many skills back from Australia to London where very few surgeons were using these techniques.

He was appointed a consultant at St Mary's Hospital in 1997 and set up the Laparoscopic Surgical Service in the Gynaecology Department. As one of the pioneers in using laparoscopic surgery to treat cancer patients he moved to Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's hospital in 2003 with the establishment of the Gynaecological Cancer Centre.

He did research into the relationship between the Human Papilloma Virus and cervical cancer and has subsequently become interested in treatments that allow fertility preservation for young patients with gynaecological cancer. He has published his results on laparoscopic hysterectomy for endometrial cancer and was the first surgeon in the world to perform a laparoscopic trachelectomy on a pregnant patient with cervix cancer. 

Diseases, Medical Tests and Treatments

• Laparoscopic surgery 
• Colposcopy
• Laparoscopic (Keyhole) Surgery
• Fertility-Sparing Surgery
• Endometriosis
• Gynaecological Oncology