Daniel Wilks is a UK board certified Consultant Plastic Surgeon who works full-time as a paediatric plastic surgeon at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Daniel, originally from north west England, was employed as a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Leeds for 3 years prior to relocating to Melbourne to work in his area of specialist interest – children’s surgery.

He has undertaken a UK national fellowship in hand surgery and international fellowships at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne and in the United States.

He has obtained Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, FRCS (Plast) and an advanced Diploma in Hand Surgery. He is on the UK Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery.

Daniel recognises that surgery is only part of a child’s care and he works closely with a range of other professionals to ensure that all the child’s and family’s needs are met. Spending time to help the child and their family reach the decision that is best for them is a key part of Daniel’s practice.

Daniel is involved in a range of research activities. He became interested in hand and limb transplantation – a technique that can be used to rebuild missing hands – 10 years ago. He established the only licenced UK centre for upper limb transplantation in Leeds, UK prior to moving to Melbourne. Daniel has written many articles on the technique and has led surgical teams in each of the UK transplants performed to date.

Daniel has contributed over 30 scientific articles and book chapters to the international literature is co-editor of the Oxford Textbook of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is regularly invited to present his work internationally and greatly enjoys teaching junior doctors and medical students.

Special Interests

Hand Surgery

Nerve Surgery

Limb Transplantation

Microsurgery

Tumour Surgery

Education

Consultant Appointments

Selected Publications

1. Kay SP and Wilks DJ Bionic hand transplantation: Linking the cortex to the hand. The Lancet. 2015, 385(9983): 2130–2132.

2. Berglund E, Andersen Ljungdahl M, Bogdanović D, et al. Clinical Significance of Alloantibodies in Hand Transplantation: A Multicenter Study. Transplantation 2019, 103(10): 2173–2182.

3. Burdon J, Taplin S, Kay SP, et al. The functional assessment and rehabilitation programme of the UK hand and upper limb transplant service. Hand Therapy. 2019.

4. Wilks DJ, Clark B and Kay SPJ The histocompatibility and immunogenetics of hand transplantation. Int. J. Immunogenet. 2020, 47(1): 24–27.

5. Wilks DJ, Mowatt DJ, Merchant W, et al. Facial paediatric desmoid fibromatosis: A case series, literature review and management algorithm. J. Plast. Reconstr. Aesthetic Surg. 2012, 65(5): 564–71.

6. Winterton RIS, Wilks DJ, Chumas PD, et al. Surgical correction of midline nasal dermoid sinus cysts. J. Craniofac. Surg. 2010, 21(2): 295–300.

7. Kay SP and Wilks DJ Invited Comment: Vascularized composite allotransplantation: An update on medical and surgical progress and remaining challenges. J. Plast. Reconstr. Aesthetic Surg. British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. 2013, 66(11): 1456–7.

Textbooks

1. Kay SP, McCombe DB, and Wilks DJ (eds). Oxford Textbook of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1st Edition. In press

2. Wilks DJ and Kay SP. Vascularised Composite Allotransplantation. 1st ed. In: Kay SP, McCombe DB, and Wilks DJ (eds). Oxford Textbook of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery. Oxford: Oxford University. In Press.