Mr John Bunni

Mr. Bunni is a Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon at the Royal United Hospital, Bath and Bath Clinic.

He completed his Basic Surgical Training in the South West of England, after graduating in Medicine from the University of Bristol "with Honours" in 2005. He subsequently completed his Membership Exams in 2008, at first attempt, and commenced higher surgical training.

In 2012 he was awarded a competitive Research Grant from the Wellcome Trust as part of the Elizabeth Blackwell Scheme for £32,000. This was focused on different angiogenic isoforms of VEGF in Colorectal Cancer, with significant clinical implications. He has published the outcome of this research in the prestigious "American Journal of Cancer" in May 2015.

In September 2015 he passed his FRCS Exit Exam in General Surgery at the first attempt and was awarded the highly prestigious "Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland Gold Medal and Cash Prize" for the highest scoring mark in the United Kingdom.

He has been awarded his Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in General Surgery in Feb 2016 and is on the GMC Specialist Register.

In April 2016 he commenced a prestigious 1 year Fellowship in "Laparoscopic and Advanced Open Colorectal and Peritoneal Malignancy Surgery" at Basingstoke. Basingstoke is recognised as a world leading pseudomyxoma peritonei centre and also a tertiary referral complex rectal cancer centre, and the birthplace and home of "Total Mesorectal Excision" (TME) pioneered by Professor Bill Heald.

In 2017 he was awarded a Diploma in Laparoscopic Surgery by the University of Strasbourg, France.

Due to his involvement in designing and presenting course material, assessment and running of the surgical modules in the Ageing Health and Disease MSc programme he was made an "Honorary Lecturer" at Cardiff University.

He is “Visiting Lecturer” at the University of Bath and has set up a strong collaboration with the School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. He is involved and is named investigator in local and national research projects, supervises an MPhil student and also teaches in the Undergraduate Pharmacy and Pharmacology programme.

He has held numerous teaching positions including "Honorary Clinical Tutor” at the School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol and also "Honorary Clinical Surgical Tutor" for the Severn Deanery. He takes an active role in teaching locally in Bath and the Deanery and has set up a highly popular and successful local weekly teaching programme for junior doctors in Bath. He is also the surgical lead for Physician Associate students.

He has an interest in laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery and all aspects of colorectal cancer - particularly rectal cancer, appendiceal and peritoneal disease. He has published over 30 peer reviewed papers in General and Colorectal Surgery; is Author and Editor of a textbook on Peritoneal malignancy (“A Practical Guide to Peritoneal Malignancy: The PMI Manual” CRC Press, Nov 2019); author of a Textbook on ENT and Head and Neck Surgery (“The Essential Clinical Handbook for ENT Surgery” BPP Learning Media, Sep 2013) and also co-authored the chapter on "Surgery for Rectal Cancer" in the highly acclaimed and popular “Colorectal Surgery Companion Series, 6th Edition” (Elsevier, June 2018). He has also co-authored an online surgical oncology module and numerous local hospital handbooks.

He is currently Editor and reviewer for 14 Journals in Surgery and has reviewed grant applications for the “Bowel Disease Research Foundation”. He speaks locally and nationally on colorectal surgery.

He was appointed in Bath in 2016. Whilst his main focus is in colorectal cancer, he sees patients with all colorectal problems (proctology, pelvic floor and IBD), is colorectal lead for the local gynae-oncology service, participates in the General Surgery on-call and very much enjoys endoscopy (diagnostic and therapeutic). He is the lead surgeon for appendiceal tumours and provides expertise on colorectal peritoneal metastases including laparoscopic staging and management. He has set up a comprehensive database on patients with appendix tumours, pseudomyxoma peritoneii & colorectal peritoneal metastases to ensure robust fail-safe surveillance and audit.

He is a member of numerous learned societies, including the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI), European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) and The Pelvic Floor Society (TPFS).

He provides a measured, thorough, methodical and bespoke approach to patients’ problems, and is committed and dedicated to delivering the highest quality of personalised care to his patients and comprehensively audits his work.

Outside of work he is an avid reader of the history of surgery; anatomy; philosophy (particularly epistemology and theology); evolutionary biology and also enjoys watching and playing tennis. He is happily married with a young family and lives in the South West.

Clinical Interests

• Colorectal cancer (diagnosis, staging, treatment and surveillance)
• Peritoneal malignancy (colorectal peritoneal metastases, pseudomyxoma peritonei, appendiceal tumours or mucoceles), anal tumours/skin lesions
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis)
• Pelvic floor surgery (obstructed defecation, faecal incontinence)
• General proctology (haemorrhoids, anal fissure, anal fistula, pilonidal sinus, anal tags)
• Abdominal wall and groin hernias
• Diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy
• Skin lesions and lumps and bumps (lipoma, sebaceous cyst etc)

Professional Memberships

• Association of Coloproctology of Gb And Ireland (Acpgbi)
• European Society of Coloproctology (Escp)
• The Pelvic Floor Society
• Jets
• General Medical Council
• Medical Protection Society

Useful Links

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Bunni J
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Guide-Peritoneal-Malignancy-Manual/dp/1138495115
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Essential-Clinical-HandbookSurgery/dp/1445381699/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid...bunni
• https://www.elsevier.com/books/colorectal-surgery/clark/978-0-7020-7243-7