Mr Ian Mackie qualified at the Westminster Hospital London and has been a Consultant for over 30 years specialising in all aspects of hip, knee and hand surgery as well as the treatment of spinal pain.

He did much of his Orthopaedic training in Australia especially working with the eminent knee surgeon Mr Mervyn Cross and the eminent hand surgeon Mr Tim Herbert who developed the Herbert screw to treat scaphoid fractures in the hand. 
He has had secondments in the USA with Dr Merl Ritter who developed the AGC knee and Dr Bill Kennedy who developed the Kennedy hip which was developed into the Taperloc hip and nowadays the Accolade 2 hip.

Mr Mackie has had secondments in Germany with Professor Toft in Munich to learn treatments for knee osteoarthritis developing in young patients and at the world famous Endoklinic in Hamburg to learn advanced treatments for infection in hip and knee replacements.

He has also held the position of visiting Professor of Medical Systems in the mechanical engineering department within the University of Cardiff. During this time he founded the MSc in Orthopaedic Engineering with his colleague Professor Nokes to teach training Orthopaedic surgeons biomechanical principles to improve patient care.
Also with his colleague Mr D Ralis described a bone quality defect as a cause of osteoporosis which has led to the development of varied treatments for this disabling condition.

Whilst a Consultant in Cardiff he supervised the centralised treatment centre for hip and knee replacement. This led to him giving evidence to Parliamentary Select Committee in Westminster London with regard to pre-assessment clinics and treatment centres which has led to these innovations being widespread especially in England.