Hi, I'm Tarek!
I'm a consultant colorectal surgeon at Lancashire Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
I have over 14 years of experience as a consultant general and colorectal surgeon but to my defence I do not feel that old!
So yes, I do surgery, keyhole surgery, robotic surgery, new surgery etc. But I have grown exponentially over the past - say ten years - to realise that my job is not my identity.
Being good at what I do at work does not define who I am. Had I not been a surgeon or had I lost my job permanently (I almost did!) then I would have lost my identity.
This website is mainly about the more important part of my life, my real identity as a human who has had both good and bad experiences in life and who wants to share with others for only one reason; if one person could benefit directly or indirectly from what I share here then I would consider creating these pages a massive success.
My self-growth and maturity have given me the permission to express myself on a web scale. Why would one die and not say or express all they had wanted to? Feel free to advise and criticise, I would listen to any thing that had the slightest hint of advice. Omar Ibn Khattab once said:
“The closest to me are those who gift me my shortcomings”
I am naturally compassionate and keen to provide support and information to patients, doctors, nurses, and anyone I come into contact with. I love to coach and be coached, creating, and sharing new ideas and trying new experiences. I connect well with myself and connect well with others (not all others unfortunately).
The majority of my work life involves general surgery, emergency surgery, minimally invasive surgery (keyhole, robotic, laparoscopic surgery) and yes… paperwork.
I am a keen runner- despite the looks of a rugby player or even a sumo fighter- once or twice a year I pick a fight with a marathon or two and somehow end up with a medal in my hand. No one sees the struggle; they only see the medal!
Over the past two years, I have been involved with a team of experienced surgeons at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in the establishment of a novel extra-peritoneal colorectal surgery technique (also known as EXPERTS) and I have more than three years of clinical experience in the technique itself. More details about how this story developed into practice in the following pages on this site.