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Dr Mark Sanders

Consultant in Anaesthesia & Pain Management

MB, BS, FRCA, FFPMRCA

Practises at: St Edmunds Hospital

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Personal Profile

Dr Sanders has extensive specialist experience as a consultant in pain medicine and the management of a wide range of painful conditions that can result from illness or personal injury.

Dr Sanders attained his MB BS from the University of London in 1992 and the Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA) in 1996. His anaesthetic and pain training was based in the Wessex School of Anaesthesia, working in Salisbury, Southampton and Poole/Bournemouth hospitals. 

He then sought further experience through an appointment as an Associate Professor in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at the internationally renowned University of Washington, Seattle.

In 2002, Dr Sanders was appointed as a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain medicine at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital (NNUH). He has sessional commitments to anaesthesia and chronic pain medicine. Each year he undertakes the assessment of approximately 1,500 patients and performs in excess of 500 pain procedures.

He was awarded the Fellowship of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FFPMRCA) in 2007 and was appointed Clinical Director for Anaesthesia, Pain Medicine and Critical Care in July 2010 and an Associate Medical Director in 2015.

His practice encompasses all aspects of Pain Medicine, including spinal pain, back pain, fibromyalgia and facial pain syndromes including trigeminal neuralgia. Dr Sanders offers appointments to discuss any aspect of long-term pain management and is happy to offer second opinions if requested.

Patients are usually referred either by their GP, specialist or physiotherapist. After an initial 30-45 minute consultation, he may recommend additional investigations such as scans to help plan the treatment. Follow-up consultations then provide the opportunity to discuss the findings of the investigations or the patient’s response to treatment.

Dr Sanders employs a pragmatic, caring approach to management of long-term pain and believes passionately in the empowerment of patients in the management of their condition.

Dr Sanders treats all chronic pain conditions including:

  • Chronic back pain
  • Chronic neck pain
  • Sciatica
  • Post-surgical pain
  • Chronic pain syndromes
  • Whiplash
  • Spinal pain
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
  • Neuropathic pain
  • Headaches and migraine
  • Trigeminal neuralgia
  • Facial pain
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Pelvic pain conditions
  • Shoulder pain

Dr Sanders has an active research program, principally into chronic opiate usage and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. His recent publications include:

  • Jatinder Bisla, Gareth Ambler et al Successful and unsuccessful recruitment and retainment strategies in a UK multicentre drug trial for a rare chronic pain condition which performed above target December 2019 British Journal of Pain DOI: 10.1177/2049463719893399
  • Katherine Deane, Richard Gray et al Patient-directed self-management of pain (PaDSMaP) compared to treatment as usual following total knee replacement; a randomised controlled trial  May 2018 BMC Health Services Research 18(1):346 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-018-3146-2
  • Andreas Goebel, Mark Sanders et al Low-Dose Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment for Long-Standing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome A Randomized Trial October 2017 Annals of internal medicine 167(7)

Dr Sanders’s practice is contemporary, is supported by regular surveys and audits and appraisals.

Clinical Interests

Clinical Interests

  • Chronic Pain
  • Sciatica
  • Back pain management
  • Epidural

Professional Memberships

  • Medical & Dental Indemnity Protection UK (MDDUS)

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