Bassel

Mr Bassel H. Al Wattar
Associate Professor in Reproductive Medicine Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery

Professional profile

Mr Wattar is an Associate Professor of Reproductive Medicine and a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Beginnings Assisted Conception Unit at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals in London.  He is an RCOG accredited Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine having completed combined clinical and academic training in the West Midlands deanery having worked in leading university hospitals. 

He has advanced expertise and specialist interest in Endocrine Gynaecology, IVF, minimal access surgery and menopause. 

He leads several several research groups at University College London and Anglia Ruskin University which are focused on delivering high quality applied clinical research in women’s health. He is passionate about delivering high quality research that addresses the real health needs of women and their families. Several of his research outputs have been featured in international news outlets and led to significant improvements in women’s health worldwide. 


Mr Wattar is an accredited Menopause Specialist with the British Menopause Society and an accredited trainer with the British Fertility Society. He currently serves as a Scientific Editor at The British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG). He is also a member of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and international Androgen Excess and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Society (AE-PCOS).

 

He is passionate about providing holistic, rapid, and prompt women’s healthcare with a focus on running one stop gynaecology clinics with rapid access to ultrasonography and other diagnostics such as outpatient hysteroscopy.  

 

Mr Wattar is quadrilingual (fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic) and enjoys learning about new cultures and languages everyday having visited more than 40 countries to date. Outside medicine, he enjoys time with his family as a husband and a father and dedicate a lot of his free time to playing music, ballroom dancing, and Squash! 

Clinical Interest and Expertise

Mr Wattar has a special interest in the diagnosis and management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) focused on offering holistic care for women with this condition. He has published widely on PCOS treatments and works collaboratively with the Verity PCOS charity to deliver high quality healthcare and research for women with PCOS. He also has an interest in the fertility preservation, male subfertility, recurrent implantation failure and ovulation induction for couples with anovulatory subfertility. 

He runs a specialist endocrine gynaecology clinic at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals dedicated for women with ovulatory, endocrine, and menstrual disorders. He also provides advice for management of complex Menopause and peri menopause issues especially for women with history of cancer and previous clotting disorders.

 

He runs a dedicated service caring for pregnant women post IVF treatment especially those with donor eggs to plan their pregnancy and ensure a healthy delivery. 

He offers a wide range of laparoscopic (keyhole) and hysteroscopic surgical procedures including keyhole removal of fibroids, uterine septum, adhesions, tubal cannulation, and total laparoscopic hysterectomy. 

He has advanced expertise in evidence synthesis and applied clinical research and has published a high number of peer-reviewed publications and co-authored book chapters in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology.

He currently holds several research grants for public and private funders in the UK focused on evaluating novel treatments in the fields of gynaecology and reproductive medicine.

Professional statement:

‘’I strongly believe that high quality women’s health is a portal for a healthy family and healthy society. This moto underpins our dedication at LUNA to offer comprehensive healthcare services to women across different life stages to help them stay healthy and empower them to make the right decisions about their health. 

I believe that delivering quality healthcare services starts by ATTENTIVE LISTENING. This is why I am thrilled to be part of LUNA, a clinic designed to listen to our patients, to help them express their health needs, and to help them chose the treatment they desire’’

Publications:

A full up to date list of Mr Wattar’s publications can be found here:

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8287-9271

Key high impact publications:

Rimmer MP, Teh JJ, Mackenzie SC, Al Wattar BH. The risk of miscarriage following COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Human Reproduction. 2023 Feb 16:dead036.

Tayler B, Walford H, Tamblyn J, Keay S.D, Mavrelos D, Yasmin E, Al Wattar B.H. Interventions to optimise embryo transfer in women undergoing assisted conception: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analyses. Human reproduction update 2022 Mar 24.

Al Wattar B.H, Dodds J, Placzek A, Beresford L, Spyreli E, Moore A, Carreras FJ, Austin F, Murugesu N, Roseboom TJ, Bes-Rastrollo M. Mediterranean-style diet in pregnant women with metabolic risk factors (ESTEEM): A pragmatic multicentre randomised trial. PLoS medicine. 2019 Jul;16(7).

Al Wattar B.H, Honess E, Bunnewell S, Welton NJ, Quenby S, Khan KS, Zamora J, Thangaratinam S. Effectiveness of intrapartum fetal surveillance to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. CMAJ. 2021 Apr 6;193(14):E468-77.

Al Wattar B.H., Murugesu N, Tobias A, Zamora J, Khan KS. Management of first-trimester miscarriage: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Human reproduction update. 2019 Feb 12;25(3):362-74.

Rimmer MP and Al Wattar B.H on Behalf of the UKARCOG members. Provision of obstetrics and gynaecology services during the COVID19 pandemic: A survey of junior doctors in the UK National Health Service. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2020 May.

Al Wattar. B.H, Teede H, Garad R, Franks S, Balen A, Bhide P, Piltonen T, Romaldi D, Laven J, Thondan M, Bueno A, Moss N, Andrews C, Hawkes R, Mol B.W, Khan K.S, Thangaratinam S. Harmonising research outcomes for polycystic ovary syndrome (HARP): An international multi-stakeholder core outcome set. Human Reproduction. 2020 Feb 29;35(2):404-412.

Bunnewell, S.J., Emma R Honess, E.R., Karia, A, Keay S.D, Al Wattar B.H., Quenby S. Diminished ovarian reserve in recurrent pregnancy loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Fertility and Sterility. 2020 Apr;113(4):818-827.e3

Al Wattar, B.H., Dodds, J., Placzek, A., Spyreli, E., Moore, A., Hooper, R., Beresford, L., Roseboom, T.J., Bes-Rastrollo, M., Hitman, G. and Khan, K.S., 2016. Effect of simple, targeted diet in pregnant women with metabolic risk factors on maternal and fetal outcomes (ESTEEM): study protocol for a pragmatic multicentre randomised trial. BMJ open, 6(10), p.e013495.

Al Wattar, B.H., Tamilselvan, K., Khan, R., Kelso, A., Sinha, A., Pirie, A.M., McCorry, D., Khan, K.S. and Thangaratinam, S. Development of a core outcome set for epilepsy in pregnancy (E‐CORE): a national multi‐stakeholder modified Delphi consensus study. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2017 Mar;124(4):661-667