Prof Diarmuid Ó Ríordáin

Prof Diarmuid Ó Ríordáin
Oncology; Robotic Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery.

Current Positions
Prof Ó Ríordáin is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, Head of Colorectal Surgery and leads the Gastrointestinal Multidisciplinary Team at Beacon Hospital. He is appointed Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery, University College Dublin School of Medicine.

He served as Chief of Surgery at UPMC Beacon Hospital from 2008 to 2014 and has also held the posts of Consultant Surgeon and Lecturer in Surgery at Tallaght University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin and Naas Hospital since 2001.

Clinical Expertise
Prof Ó Ríordáin’s major areas of surgical expertise are in Cancer of the Colon and Rectum and in Minimally Invasive Robotic and Laparoscopic and Transanal Surgery for colorectal cancer. He has extensive leadership experience in this area having initiated and lead the development of multidisciplinary colorectal cancer teams at the University of Leeds, Tallaght University Hospital and at the Beacon Hospital. His expertise includes major pelvic cancer problems including pelvic exenteration and recurrent rectal cancer. In addition to his Colorectal Cancer interest, he also performs robotic, laparoscopic, minimally invasive transanal, pelvic and perianal surgery for benign colorectal disease, including colorectal polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease, complex anal fistulae and rectal prolapse as well as complex restorative surgery for patients with complicated stomas and abdominal wall hernias.

Prof Ó Ríordáin has had a major focus on Minimally Invasive Surgery since its inception in the 1990’s. Having been to the fore in the development of laparoscopic colorectal surgery in Ireland in the early noughties, he has more recently lead the development of robotic colorectal surgery becoming the first accredited robotic colorectal surgeon in Ireland in 2017, and one of only 25 in Europe at the time, through the European Academy of Robotic Colorectal Surgery (EARCS). He leads the Robotic Colorectal Surgery Programme at Beacon Hospital, the largest experience in Ireland, with published outcomes in the Journal of Robotic Surgery.

He also practices as a general surgeon providing minimally invasive and day-care surgery for both elective general surgical problems, including hernias, gallbladder disease and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and a full endoscopy service including colonoscopy and polypectomy. He provides an emergency on-call service in both the public and the private sector.

Education, Training and Experience
Prof Ó Ríordáin is a graduate of University College Cork and having completed a Senior Registrar training programme in Colorectal and General Surgery in Ireland, and attaining Specialist Fellowship of the RCSI, he moved to the United States for further senior clinical and research experience in Colorectal and Oncologic Surgery. Prof Ó Ríordáin trained at some of the leading academic medical centres in the United States including The Mayo Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York where he was awarded the prestigious and competitively awarded International Fellowship in Surgical Oncology, where he specialised in gastrointestinal oncology.

In 1998 he moved from the US to the UK, to take up the post of Consultant Surgeon and Senior Lecturer in Surgery at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, Europe’s largest teaching hospital, and at the University of Leeds Medical School. Here, he played a lead role in the development and organization of the Gastrointestinal and Colorectal Cancer Surgical service, Laparoscopic Surgery Programme and lead the development of the Multidisciplinary Gastrointestinal Cancer team. In 2001 he moved back to Ireland to the post of Consultant Surgeon and Lecturer in Surgery at Tallaght University Hospital and Trinity College Dublin.

Academic
Prof Ó Ríordáin’s research interests include Colorectal Cancer, Multidisciplinary Cancer Care, Robotic and Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery.
He was awarded a Doctorate in Medicine NUI 1993 for his thesis based on research in surgical immunology. He has authored more than 70 peer reviewed scientific articles and over 100 lectures and presentations to learned societies in Ireland and Internationally.

He takes an active involvement in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Prof Ó Ríordáin is Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at University College Dublin School of Medicine and also lectures in surgery at the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin through his affiliation to Tallaght University and Naas Hospitals.

Memberships of Professional Bodies
Society of Surgical Oncology USA
Surgical Discussion Group
Irish Society of Coloproctology
Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland
International Society of Surgery
European Academy of Robotic Colorectal Surgery