WUTH surgeon receives prestigious lifetime achievement award for services to maxillofacial surgery

A surgeon at Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) has received the ultimate lifetime achievement award for 2024 from the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS).

Professor Simon Rogers, from West Kirby, a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at WUTH, has received the prestigious Down Surgical Prize from BAOMS. The prize is awarded annually and is considered a high honour awarded to individuals who are judged to have made a major contribution to oral and maxillofacial surgery in the widest sense. The award is made in recognition of the significant contribution Simon has made to the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery, and to the association, over his 35-year career as a consultant.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the mouth, jaws, face and neck. This type of surgery is unique in needing a dual qualification in both medicine and dentistry. Combining training in both provides an expertise to treat conditions such as head and neck cancers, skin cancers, craniofacial trauma and infections, salivary gland diseases, facial disproportion, jaw joint disorders, and oral pathology such as cysts of the jaws.

Dr Nikki Stevenson, Executive Medical Director and Deputy CEO said: “I’m delighted, and very proud that Simon has received this amazing award for services to maxillofacial surgery. He is a hugely talented consultant, and there are many patients who have publicly expressed their deep gratitude to him. Throughout his career he has worked tirelessly to improve care for patients, not only at WUTH but internationally, and his name is recognised worldwide in the field of maxillofacial surgery.”

Simon completed his dentistry and medical degrees in 1990, and in 1993 moved to Merseyside for his speciality surgical training. In 1999 he was appointed consultant at the regional centre at Aintree focusing on head and neck cancer and reconstructive surgery. After many years of providing a head and neck cancer clinic at WUTH for patients on Wirral, he took a full-time consultant post at WUTH in 2022. His current practice is mainly surgery for skin cancers, assessment of patients with suspected head and neck cancer, and as clinical lead for research and innovation.

Simon said: “There’s an old saying that if you find a job you enjoy doing, you won’t work a day in your life, and for me it couldn’t be truer. Being a maxillofacial surgeon can be life absorbing and exhausting. Twelve-hour surgeries are quite common, for example, doing facial reconstructions using bone from other parts of the body and moulding it to fit the jaw. But I’m very driven, and 100% committed to this field, so the long hours never really felt like hard work.”

Simon’s pursuit of excellence is evident in many areas of his life. He has received numerous awards, including a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons Intercollegiate Gold Medal, and a Hunterian Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons. As an academic he has published over 450 papers. His role as clinical lead for research and innovation at WUTH has allowed him the opportunity to contribute to the Wirral Research Collaborative, which is a partnership that offers people on Wirral an opportunity to take part in research if they have relevant conditions.

Simon will formally receive the prize and medal at the BAOMS awards ceremony on 18 June 2025.