Professional background

Mr. Hyam is a consultant brain & comprehensive Spinal neurosurgeon at The National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, Queen Square. He is an honorary consultant in neurosurgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Mr. Hyam is neurosurgeon to the adult craniofacial multidisciplinary service with specialists in maxillofacial, plastics and ENT surgery, whereby head shape/deformity is reconstructed after surgery, injury or in syndromic conditions.

His specialist expertise includes:

  • Craniofacial  and cranioplastic surgery
  • Tumours such as meningioma
  • Gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery for tumours, trigeminal neuralgia and glossopharyngeal neuralgia
  • Treatment of spinal stenosis and disc prolapse within the neck and lower spine
  • Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease, tremor, facial pain and dystonia

Mr. Hyam has received numerous national and international prizes and honours. He has received America’s Congress of Neurological Surgeons’ Resident Prize for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery which was awarded in Washington, DC. He also received UCL and Queen Square's Prize in Neurosurgery.

He was awarded a PhD from Oxford University in Neurosurgery and Physiology, and a Diploma in Microscopic Neurosurgery from The Yasargil Neurosurgery Laboratory of the University of Zurich. Mr. Hyam was appointed Associate Editor of the Masters of Neurosurgery Hall of Fame spanning the highest-regarded neurosurgeons from around the globe.

He is an invited specialist advisor to NICE on behalf of the British Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, providing expert guidance on treatments across the country for conditions such as headache, facial pain, movement disorders, and spinal pain.

Mr. Hyam was awarded the prestigious Arris and Gale Lectureship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The lectureship was established in the year 1646 and is still awarded in stiff competition to surgeons at the height of their career. Previous recipients include Nobel Laureate Sir Alexander Fleming.

Mr. Hyam was elected to the council of the Royal Society of Medicine, clinical neurosciences section, and is a member of the Leksell Gamma Knife Society, and the British Association of Spine Surgeons.

He is also a specialist surgical advisor to BBC Drama’s “Holby City” and can be found on occasions at their studios in Borehamwood advising the actors and film crew on the set.

Research interests

Robot-assisted neurosurgery, Gamma Knife radiosurgery, advancing safety for patients undergoing cranial and spinal surgery, novel treatments in facial pain/neuralgia

Publications

  • Lancet 2009  
    NICE head injury guidelines pre-empted two millennia ago.
    Hyam JA, Green AL, Aziz TZ.
  • Nature Reviews Neurology 2012  
    The effects of deep brain stimulation on the autonomic nervous system.
    Hyam JA, Kringelbach ML, Silburn P, Aziz TZ, Green AL.
  • Lancet Neurology 2015  
    Bilateral globus pallidus stimulation for severe Tourette’s syndrome: a double-blind, randomized cross-over trial.   Kefalopoulou Z, Zrinzo L, Jahanshahi M, Candelario J, Milabo C, Beigi M, Akram H, Hyam J, et al.
  • Neurosurgery 2012  
    Controlling the lungs via the brain: a novel neurosurgical method to improve lung function in humans.  
    Hyam JA, Brittain JS, Paterson DJ, Davies RJO, Aziz TZ, Green AL.
  • Brain 2012
    A spatiotemporal analysis of gait freezing and the impact of pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation. Thevathasan W, Coyne, Hyam JA, et al.
  • Neurology 2011  
    Depiction of the principles of human motion 2 millennia ago by Lucretius.
    Hyam JA, Paterson DJ, Aziz TZ, Green AL.
  • Brain 2012 
    Alpha oscillations in the pedunculopontine nucleus correlate with gait performance in parkinsonism. Thevathasan W, Pogosayan A, Hyam JA, et al.
  • Critical Care 2006  
    Case mix, outcomes and comparison of risk prediction models for admissions to adult, general and specialist critical care units for head injury: a secondary analysis of the ICNARC Case Mix Programme Database.   
    Hyam JA, Welch CA, Harrison DA, Menon DK.
  • Brain 2011 
    A block to pre-prepared movement in gait freezing, relieved by pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation. Thevathasan W, Coyne, Hyam JA, et al.
  • Annals of Neurology 2012 
    Switching off micturition using deep brain stimulation at midbrain sites. Green AL, Stone E, Sitsapesan H, Hyam JA, et al.
  • Click here to view a comprehensive list of Mr. Hyam’s published research on MedLine