Tom Bourne
Consultant Gynaecologist, London

Tom Bourne trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St Marys Manchester and Gloucester. He also worked on the neonatal unit in Oxford before working as a research fellow and finally lecturer and senior registrar at Kings College Hospital, London. 

At Kings he set up many aspects of and for five years ran the gynaecological ultrasound and ovarian cancer screening service where he introduced the used of vaginal ultrasonography and colour Doppler into the clinic. In 1994 he moved to Sahlgrenska Hospital at the University of Gteborg in Sweden on a Swedish Medical Research Council visiting scientist fellowship. In Sweden he initiated research into ovarian function and extended his experience of gynaecological ultrasound with Seth Granberg. However the main purpose of this move was to train in laparoscopic and hysteroscopic (keyhole) surgery. He wrote his Ph.D. on aspects of the early detection of ovarian and endometrial carcinoma. 

Following this he furthered his surgical training working with Olav Istre in Norway and Jan Deprest in Belgium before returning to the UK.He was appointed as a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at St George's in 1996. He obtained the MRCOG in 1990 and was made FRCOG in 2003. He was conferred the title of Reader in acute gynaecology and gynaecological ultrasonography at St George's University of London in 2005. He was appointed as visiting Professor, at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium in 2007. 

In September 2008 he left St Georges in order to continue to pursue his clinical and research interests with the University Hospital of Leuven whilst taking up other opportunities within the NHS in London and elsewhere. In December 2008 he was appointed to the staff of Imperial College NHS trust based at Queen Charlottes and Chelsea Hospital.He has an international reputation in the field of early pregnancy and gynaecological ultrasonography. He has edited six books, published over 150 papers in international journals and been invited to speak and chair at numerous international meetings on subjects relating to the use of ultrasound in gynaecology. 

He is on the scientific committee and has been elected onto the Board of the international society for ultrasound in obstetrics and gynaecology (ISUOG), and is a medical advisor to the ectopic pregnancy trust. He is a Board member of the association of early pregnancy units (AEPU). He is a member of the medical research council (MRC) panel of experts. He is an expert advisor to NICE on bleeding and pain in early pregnancy. He is on the steering committee of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) and the International Pregnancy of Unknown Location Analysis (IPULA) trials. 

His current research interests relate to the management of early pregnancy complications, early pregnancy embryonic growth, the diagnosis of ovarian cancer and the characterization of ovarian pathology.Tom Bourne has a clinic at the Womens Ultrasound Centre in Harley Street central London all day every Tuesday. He consults at Parkside Hospital in Wimbledon (South-West London) each Monday afternoon as well as every Monday and Wednesday evenings. He carries out gynaecological scans at the Portland Hospital on a Monday morning.

Clinical interests

• Gynaecological scanning. Emergency gynaecology. Early pregnancy problems - pain, bleeding, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Ovarian cysts. Abnormal bleeding

Research interests

• Research has been based around the use of ultrasound to study the morphology and vascularity of the female pelvis. Initially my interest focussed on the use of ultrasound and tumour markers to screen for ovarian cancer, but this quickly widened to the broader aspects of assessing many other forms of ovarian and tubal pathology. This culminated in the setting up of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA), a major multicentre trial examining the optimal diagnostic approach to adnexal pathology in general and ovarian cancer in particular. I have always felt that ultrasound and colour Doppler can be used to evaluate uterine and ovarian physiology and this has led to a number of studies of normal physiology. In recent years my work has also concentrated on the evaluation of early pregnancy. In particular this has involved the development of approaches to the characterisation of pregnancies of unknown location and the diagnosis of Ectopic pregnancy. I feel that the study of pregnancy will inevitably look more closely at the first trimester. My current research programme is examining factors that influence embryonic growth in the first trimester of pregnancy. Specific projects in: Miscarriage diagnosis Psychological impact of early pregnancy complications Long term impact on the pregnancy of events in early pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy Pregnancy of unknown location - hCG and progesterone Early pregnancy growth Characterising ovarian cysts Gynaecological ultrasound Ovarian cancer diagnosis Endometrial cancer diagnosis Ovarian function Dermoid cysts and endometrioma Caesarean section scars Tamoxifen and the endometrium Endometrial polyps

Internet Details

Website

http://www.womensultrasound.co.uk