Cardiac Surgery

The Cardiac Surgery Team is based in the Heart and Lung Centre and includes seven surgeons who perform a wide range of adult cardiac surgery procedures, from routine coronary artery bypass grafting, cardiac valve replacements and repairs, to complex aortic surgery and minimally invasive operations.

The mean hospital stay after an uncomplicated procedure is about a week. Our team of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses is incredibly focused on early recovery and pain management. We have excellent results, benchmarked to national averages.

For several years we have been ranked the second cardiac surgery department in the United Kingdom, in terms of low mortality and rate of complications.

We are co-located at the Heart and Lung centre with the thoracic surgical team (Zone B):

• Outpatients (B3)
• Cardio-thoracic ward (B8)
• Intensive care unit (B9)
• Operating theatres (B10)

The referral for a cardiac surgery procedure is normally made following assessment by a cardiologist.

Elective referrals should be made by letter, sent or emailed to the cardiothoracic surgical co-ordinator. Urgent or emergency referrals can be preceded by a discussion with the on-call cardiothoracic registrar (Bleep 3991). Radiology images (X-rays, CT scans) should be transferred to our PACS system prior to discussions. Private referrals can be made by letter sent or emailed directly to the named consultant’s secretary.

Email address for referrals: rwh-tr.cardiothoracicreferrals@nhs.net