Mr Dirk Strauss is a Consultant Surgical Oncologist and General Surgeon in the Sarcoma Unit and Skin Unit at The Royal Marsden Hospital and The Lister Hospital, London. Both hospitals have a unique one-stop diagnostic facility that provides clinical assessment, diagnostic imaging and needle biopsies in a single visit where patients are managed in the context of a multidisciplinary specialist team.
He qualified as General Surgeon from the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) obtaining MMed (Surg) and FCS (SA) degrees. In 2006 he undertook a specialist fellowship at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London, in upper gastrointestinal surgery with a special emphasis on surgery for gastrointestinal malignancies and complex oesophageal reconstructions. Mr Strauss completed the International Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at The Royal Marsden in 2008. He became Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He has a special interest in surgery for soft tissue tumours, retroperitoneal and intra-abdominal sarcomas.
The Sarcoma Unit at The Royal Marsden Hospital is one of the largest soft tissue sarcoma units in Europe. It is recognised worldwide for its strength in diagnosing and treating soft tissue sarcomas. Patients are referred not only from London, but also from all over the United Kingdom and other countries. Some patients seek a second or third opinion, having been deemed inoperable elsewhere. In 2010, more than a 1000 new patients with suspected soft tissue tumours were treated at The Royal Marsden Hospital.
Personal Statement on own philosophy to patient care:
I have an uncompromising insistence on efficiency and good outcomes; recognise the importance of function preservation in the treatment of limb sarcoma, and are familiar with the technical difficulties and challenges associated with surgery for retroperitoneal sarcoma. I strongly advocates that these rare tumours should be referred directly to specialist units and treated under the care of a multidisciplinary team who are experienced with sarcomas at all sites.
