Mr Stone was educated in West Sussex before attending medical school at Manchester University in 1985. He subsequently worked as an anatomy tutor at the university before embarking upon a general surgical training in teaching hospitals in the North West, gaining his Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England (FRCSEng) and Edinburgh (FRCSEdin) in 1994. He was also awarded a Master of Science degree (MSc), with distinction, by the University of London in recognition of scientific research undertaken at University College London between 1995 and 1996.

His plastic surgical training in Manchester, Oxford, Exeter and Plymouth provided experience in all aspects of reconstructive surgery including microsurgery. In 1999 he passed the Intercollegiate examination in plastic surgery – FRCS(Plast) – and was awarded a Certificate of Completion of Surgical Training in 2001 with accreditation on the General Medical Council’s specialist register for Plastic Surgery.