Dr Rufus Cartwright : Obstetrics and gynaecology

Bupa Platinum consultant
Fee assured
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Open Referral network

Overview

Specialises in

Urogynaecology

Offers

Face-to-face consultations
Video and telephone consultations

About me

Mr Rufus Cartwright is a Consultant Urogynaecologist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London. He specialises in the assessment and treatment of bladder and pelvic floor problems in women, including urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, pelvic organ prolapse and recurrent urinary tract infections.

Mr Cartwright trained at Cambridge and UCL, and completed RCOG subspecialty training in urogynaecology in Oxford. He holds a research MD from King's College London and a PhD from Imperial College London, where he led the first genome-wide study of urinary incontinence in women. He has published more than 120 research papers, has served as an editor for leading international urogynaecology journals, and sits on the scientific committee of the International Urogynecological Association.

He has a particular interest in the management of complications after vaginal mesh and tape surgery, and in shared decision-making, helping each woman understand her options so that treatment fits her own priorities. He offers the full range of treatments, from pelvic floor and bladder retraining through to minimally invasive and laparoscopic surgery.

Areas of interest

Mr Cartwright sees women aged 18 and over with bladder and pelvic floor problems, including:

Conditions: stress urinary incontinence; overactive bladder and urge incontinence; mixed incontinence; pelvic organ prolapse (vaginal wall, uterine and vault prolapse); recurrent urinary tract infections; bladder pain syndrome; voiding difficulties; pelvic floor problems after childbirth, including obstetric anal sphincter injury; complications of vaginal mesh and tape surgery (pain, exposure and erosion); vaginal laxity and genitourinary symptoms of the menopause.

Treatments and procedures: bladder Botox injections; percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS); urethral bulking injections; colposuspension and autologous fascial sling surgery; vaginal prolapse repair; laparoscopic hysteropexy (uterine-preserving prolapse surgery) and sacrocolpopexy; vaginal hysterectomy; vaginal removal of mesh and tapes; vaginal oestrogen and medical management of overactive bladder.

Medical secretaries

Anaesthetists worked with

Dr Rufus Cartwright has worked with Dr Tim Peters at the following hospitals:
- Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
Dr Rufus Cartwright has worked with Dr James Poncia at the following hospitals:
- Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
Dr Rufus Cartwright has worked with Dr Frank Schroeder at the following hospitals:
- Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
Dr Rufus Cartwright has worked with Dr Ahmad R Kalaji at the following hospitals:
- Cromwell Hospital (1-5)

Dr Rufus Cartwright has worked with Dr Rohit Kadian at the following hospitals:
- Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
Dr Rufus Cartwright has worked with Dr Vinod Patil at the following hospitals:
- Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
Dr Rufus Cartwright has worked with Dr Stephen Harrison at the following hospitals:
- Cromwell Hospital (1-5)

About me

Current NHS consultant posts held

Consultant Urogynaecologist (since August 2022)
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH

Research interests

Mr Cartwright’s research focuses on why women develop bladder and pelvic floor problems, and how to make their treatment safer and more effective. He has published more than 120 research papers.

Genetics of pelvic floor disorders: he led the first genome-wide study of urinary incontinence in women, which identified two new genetic risk regions.
Safer surgery: he has helped measure the risks of blood clots and bleeding after gynaecological and urological operations.
Shared decision-making: he studies how women and their doctors choose between treatments for stress incontinence.
Childbirth and the pelvic floor: he has studied the long-term effects of childbirth on continence and anal sphincter injury.
Overactive bladder: his work includes new outcome measures and treatment trials, including a current trial comparing tibial nerve stimulation with electroacupuncture.
Mesh complications: his research covers long-term outcomes after mesh surgery and techniques for removing mesh.

Personal interests

Outside medicine, Mr Cartwright is a keen rock climber who particularly enjoys bouldering in the forest of Fontainebleau and sport climbing across Europe. He also enjoys surfing and via ferrata, and spends summers camping and climbing in France and Spain with his family.

Awards received

Evelyn de Rothschild Award, Imperial College London (2023)
Best Surgical Video, British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (2019)
Lodewijk Sandkuijl Award for statistical genetics, European Society of Human Genetics (2017)
Axel Ingelman-Sundberg Award for best abstract, International Urogynecological Association (2015)
Best Abstract, Global Congress on Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction, Rome (2015)
Young Investigator of the Year, International Continence Society (2006)

Publications

Mr Cartwright has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and guidelines on urogynaecology. Selected publications:

Osse NJE, �, Cartwright R, et al. Shared decision-making for female stress urinary incontinence: current practice in three Western countries. Int Urogynecol J 2025;36:1999�2009.
Thiagamoorthy G, �, Cartwright R, et al. Post-operative pain after pelvic organ prolapse surgery (POPPOP): a double-blind randomised multicentre trial. BJOG 2025;132:1212�1219.
Tikkinen KAO, Cartwright R, Jensen AG, Violette PD. European guidelines on peri-operative venous thromboembolism prophylaxis: Chapter 12, Urology. Eur J Anaesthesiol 2024;41:618�621.
Yu J, �, Cartwright R. Genetic polymorphisms associated with urinary tract infection in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2024;230:600�609.
Lavikainen LI, �, Cartwright R, et al. Risk of thrombosis and bleeding in gynecologic noncancer surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2024;230:390�402.
Cartwright R, et al. Genome-wide association study identifies two novel loci associated with female stress and urgency urinary incontinence. J Urol 2021;206:679�687.
Carter E, Cartwright R. Surgical interventions for stress urinary incontinence. BMJ 2019;365:l2350.
Aoki Y, �, Cartwright R. Urinary incontinence in women. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2017;3:17042.
T�htinen RM, Cartwright R, et al. Long-term impact of mode of delivery on stress and urgency urinary incontinence: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Urol 2016;70:148�158.
Cartwright R, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of genetic association studies of urinary symptoms and prolapse in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2015;212:199.e1�24.

My qualifications & training

My private practice

Information for healthcare professionals (Bupa patients only, last 12 months)

Procedures completed

M4510
Diagnostic endoscopic examination of bladder (flexible cystoscopy) +/- any biopsy - (5-50)

Cromwell Hospital (5-50)
M4713
Bladder instillation as sole procedure - (5-50)

Cromwell Hospital (5-50)
Q1800
Hysteroscopy (including biopsy, dilatation, +/- cauterisation, curettage and resection of polyp(s) +/- Mirena coil insertion) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
P2310
Anterior +/- posterior colporrhaphy (including primary repair of enterocele) (including cystoscopy) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
P2450
Sacrospinous fixation - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
P2380
Anterior (+/- posterior) colporrhaphy with vaginal hysterectomy (including primary repair of enterocele and cystoscopy) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
P2610
Insertion of a vaginal support pessary - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
P2210
Anterior +/- posterior colporrhaphy and amputation of cervix uteri (including primary repair of enterocele) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
P2000
Excision of lesion of vagina (e.g. warts and cysts) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
M4714
Therapeutic injection into bladder wall (including cystoscopy) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
M4320
Endoscopic hydrostatic distension of bladder (including cystoscopy) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
M5630
Therapeutic injection into bladder neck for treatment of stress incontinence (peri-urethral bulking agents) (including cystoscopy) - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)
Q1701
Laparoscopic excision of endometriosis, +/-ureterolysis - (1-5)

Cromwell Hospital (1-5)

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