Chris Oliver (surgeon)

Christopher William Oliver
Born
Forest Gate, London, England
OccupationSurgeon
Academic background
Alma materUniversity College Hospital, University College London
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Edinburgh, Napier University
Websitehttps://cyclingsurgeon.bike/

Chris Oliver (5 January 1960 - 29 July 2023) was an Edinburgh orthopaedic surgeon, an academic working on lifestyle medicine, health informatics and medical education, and a cycling advocate.[1]

Education

In 1992, Oliver completed a doctorate (MD) from University College London in spinal muscle physiology and artificial intelligence.[2]

Career

Oliver was consultant trauma orthopaedic and hand surgeon at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh from 1997 to 2017.[3][4] From 2015 to 2018 he was also honorary professor in Physical Activity for Health at the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre, University of Edinburgh 2015-18.[5] In 2017, he gave up surgery because of the effects of diabetes on his hands.[6] He was associate research fellow at the School of Engineering and the Built Environment, Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University, from 2018 to 2021.[7] He was the King James IV Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2019-20.[8]

In October 2016, along with other academics, he signed a letter to the Medical Schools Council and the General Medical Council to highlight the lack of lifestyle education in undergraduate medical curricula across the United Kingdom.[9]

Published work

Oliver wrote about health informatics, assessment in medical education, physical activity and orthopaedic surgery.[10] He was a section editor in the multi-author major trauma section of Oxford Textbook of Fundamentals of Surgery.[11] published in July 2016.

Health and cycling advocacy

Oliver gained excessive weight during his adult life and at his heaviest was 171 kg (27 stone). In 2007, he had an adjustable gastric band fitted laparoscopically and, by 2011, his weight had reduced to 102 kg (12 stone).[3][12] In 2014, the band snapped and it was later removed.[13] In November 2020, he had an endoscopic gastric bypass.

Following his weight loss, Oliver became involved in endurance cycling.[3] He became a speaker and advocate for cycling, and worked with Cycling UK, becoming its chair in 2011. He was known as the "Cycling Surgeon".[3] In 2013, he cycled 3,415 miles from Los Angeles to Boston, USA, with his daughter, Catherine.[14]

Personal life and death

In 2021, Oliver was charged with indecent exposure during an altercation over a planning dispute about an Air BnB property next to his house.[15][16] He was sentenced by the court and fined £400.[17]

Oliver died on 29 July 2023.[1][18]

References

  1. ^ a b "Oliver, Christopher William (1960 - 2023)". Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows. The Royal College of Surgeons of England). 17 October 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  2. ^ Christopher William Oliver (July 1995). "Development of surface electromyographic spectral analysis techniques for assessing paraspinal muscle function". Edinburgh University. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d O’Dowd, Adrian (31 May 2018). "Chris Oliver: from orthopaedic surgeon to fitness professor". BMJ. 361: k1768. doi:10.1136/bmj.k1768. ISSN 0959-8138. PMID 29853632.
  4. ^ "Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma - The University of Edinburgh". ed.ac.uk. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Chris Oliver, University of Edinburgh Research Explorer". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  6. ^ Boyle, Janet (15 January 2018). "'I lost 15 stones to save my life but I couldn't save my job': Surgeon forced to quit due to diabetes". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  7. ^ Yvonne Lawrie (24 February 2019). "Chris Oliver - appointed Associate Research Fellow at TRI". Transport Research Institute. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Awards and Medals". The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  9. ^ Campbell, Denis (19 October 2016). "Doctors 'know too little about nutrition and exercise'". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
    - Buchan, Lizzy (19 October 2016). "Future doctors need training on exercise and nutrition". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Christopher W Oliver (The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh)". Researchgate.
    - "Prof Christopher W Oliver (0000-0003-1331-6429)". ORCID. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  11. ^ Thomas, William; Reed, Malcolm W. R.; Wyatt, Michael G. (July 2016). Oxford Textbook of Fundamentals of Surgery. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/med/9780199665549.001.0001. ISBN 978-0199665549.
  12. ^ "The Day I Changed My Life - Chris Oliver". BBC Radio Scotland Afternoon Show. BBC. BBC. 14 July 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  13. ^ "The Road to Fitness". Surgeon's News (September 2017). Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh: 34–35.
  14. ^ Oliver, Chris (18 July 2013). "From Los Angeles to Boston: an epic ride across the United States". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  15. ^ Gardiner, Ross. "'Can you see all this?' — Fife surgeon flashed family of holidaymakers in AirBnB balcony protest". The Courier. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  16. ^ Currie, Gordon (5 May 2021). "Scots doc exposed himself to AirBnB tourists in feud with neighbour over balcony". Daily Record. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  17. ^ Currie, Gordon. "Surgeon Chris Oliver fined £400 after exposing himself to family". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  18. ^ Forup, Suzanne (12 September 2023). "Professor Chris Oliver 1960-2023". Cycling UK. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.