Consultants

Mr David J Pemberton

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
MB.BCh. F.R.C.S. F.R.C.S. (Orth)
 

David Pemberton is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon with a special interest in lower limb surgery particularly around the knee. Since being appointed as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in 1995 he has increasingly sub-specialised in knee surgery and in particular soft tissue injuries to the knee. He therefore has extensive experience in reconstruction of injured knees, especially in sports people of all levels.

With over fifteen years of experience at Consultant level and with the benefit of a year’s specialist Fellowship training in Adelaide, South Australia, David has maintained his interest in sport through his management of sports injuries. He is Honorary Orthopaedic Surgeon to the Welsh Rugby Union, and the Ospreys regional side. He also maintains strong professional and social links with Pontypridd Rugby Club and has close associations with several other premiership and first division sides.

Indeed until last year David was still playing rugby at veteran level until yet another injury caused at least a temporary postponement with plans to continue playing until he is 50. Nonetheless he can personally recommend the reconstructive skills of his Orthopaedic colleagues at Vale Healthcare!

Sports injuries however are only a small part of his clinical practice, with the majority of patients requiring intervention for degenerative conditions, in particular knee cartilage tears and arthritis. Despite specialising in knee surgery, David still performs a lot of hip replacement surgery and indeed is one of the pioneers of ceramic bearing hip implants in Wales. He is now pioneering the utilisation of inter-positional implants for early knee arthritis in young, active patients and dual compartment replacements for knee arthritis preserving the patient’s own cruciate ligaments.

David is a firm believer in patient choice, which is why he was a founder member and Director of the Vale Clinic. He is proud to have taken this experience to Vale Healthcare, which is an unique model of a Consultant based and Consultant led clinical service. He maintains an interest in education through regular General Practitioner meetings as well as teaching at Undergraduate and Post-Graduate level and has travelled to international meetings to demonstrate cruciate ligament reconstruction techniques.

Mr Rhys Williams

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
MB BS (Lond). FRCS Ed(Orth)

Rhys Williams specialises in arthroscopic (keyhole) and minimally invasive surgery of the shoulder and knee, as well as general shoulder and knee surgery and trauma. His shoulder and knee surgery uses advanced arthroscopic methods he developed during clinical visits to leading centres in the UK and Europe, and on his fellowship in Adelaide, Australia. His special interests include shoulder dislocations, frozen shoulder, arthritis, rotator cuff tears and sports injuries of the shoulder. Rhys has an extensive knee surgery practice treating sports injuries of the knee, and arthritis. His specialist knee practice includes cartilage transplant surgery, ligament reconstruction, realignment and replacement of the knee.

Rhys routinely treats elite and professional athletes, with a particular interest in shoulder and knee injuries in Rugby and contact sports, with a large experience in treating professional sports people. He is an Honorary Surgeon to the Welsh Rugby Union, Cardiff Blues and Cardiff City Football Club.

He is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Honorary Clinical Tutor at Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust and Welsh National School of Medicine. He is also a knee and shoulder Surgeon at Vale Healthcare. In addition to his surgical qualifications, Rhys is a member of an international teaching faculty for knee surgery. He regularly performs live surgery broadcasts to worldwide destinations and teaches surgeons both home and abroad. Rhys lectures nationally and internationally on Knee and Shoulder Surgery, Sports Injuries and Computer Assisted knee surgery. He is published widely in medical journals.

Rhys works in Vale Healthcare, where together with his orthopaedic colleagues, physiotherapists and Radiologists, they offer a one-stop diagnostic service for shoulder and knee injuries and diseases. He strongly believes in a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing and treating patients with knee and shoulder problems.

He is involved in teaching on Postgraduate degrees for surgeons, therapists and sports clinicians in Orthopaedics, and is a faculty member for the Sports and Exercise degree courses at UWIC, and the MSc course in Bioengineering at Cardiff University. Rhys continues to be closely involved in clinical research at The University Hospital of Wales and Cardiff University, and strongly believes in continuing professional development.
 

Mr Chris Wilson

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
MB BS, BSc, FRCS, FRCS (Orth)

Chris is an experienced knee and trauma surgeon in the University Hospital Cardiff and in the Vale Healthcare. He specialises in all forms of knee and sports surgery. His satisfied patients range from Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes, international rugby players, professional footballers, golfers and ice hockey players through to less active people with more chronic disabilities who have seen the liberating benefits of joint replacement surgery.
 
He greatly enjoys his job and the variety and challenges it offers. No two patients are alike and Chris is a strong believer in the value of careful listening and assessment, and thorough investigation prior to any treatment decisions.
 
He is innovative and is experienced in the newer techniques of stem cell grafting for articular cartilage defects, meniscal repair and transplantation, athroscopic ligament reconstruction, computer-guided knee replacement, partial knee replacement and re-alignment osteotomy.
 
He has developed several novel techniques and has published these in specialist medical journals, along with other related research. He is active in teaching , training and assessing junior doctors and trainee surgeons and teaches on courses locally, and at the Royal College of Surgeons. He has lectured at national and international meetings. He teaches and examines on the MSc in Sports Medicine at UWIC.
 
Chris established a service working closely with physiotherapists for acute knee injuries in his NHS practice and this has proved very popular and successful. He will be starting the same sort of facility, along with his colleagues, at the Vale Healthcare. He is a member of various specialist societies here, and in the USA and Europe, and he is on the specialist register of the GMC.