More information about cardiac surgery
Surgical activity
The BHI currently undertakes 1500-1600
adult cardiac operations per year. These encompass the whole range
of adult cardiac activity with the exceptions of transplantation
and mechanical circulatory support. 
50-60% of the activity is the surgery of ischaemic heart
disease, where blockages develop in the coronary arteries and
coronary artery bypass grafting is necessary. In the BHI about
70-80% of these procedures are performed on the beating heart and
the BHI is one of the UK's leading centres with respect to this
technique. Where the narrowings are limited to one or two of
the coronary arteries, this procedure can sometimes be carried out
safely through a 'keyhole' approach. Patients can usually expect to
spend one night on the cardiac
intensive care unit and be discharged from the hospital
five to seven days afterwards.
30% of our clinical activity revolves around repair or
replacement of the valves of the heart. Disease of the heart valves
that need surgery most commonly affects the aortic and mitral
valves. Aortic valve disease is very common in older people and the
diseased valve is usually replaced with a biological prosthesis
made of animal tissues. Quite often valve replacement procedures
are combined with operations to bypass the blocks in the coronary
arteries at the same time. The mitral valve when it is leaking is
better repaired than replaced and we have a number of surgeons with
particular expertise in this area. Some of these operations are
done by a minimally invasive approach through a keyhole incision
aided by special cameras inside the chest cavity. These kind of
approaches can lead to a shorter hospital stay and a shorter
recovery period.
Approximately 5-10% of our activity involves the surgical
replacement of sections of the thoracic aorta, in particular the
treatment of aneurysms of the aorta where the blood vessel gets
very enlarged. In some clinical cases the aorta can be replaced by
introducing endovascular stents which replace the aorta which can
save the patient a major operation.
In a further 5-10% of patients surgery will be required in adult
life to treat conditions arising from congenital heart disease. A
much greater number of patients are now surviving to adult life and
they require lifelong follow up and care. This kind of surgery can
cut across the whole range - closing holes in the heart, replacing
or repairing heart valves and treating abnormalities of the main
blood vessels.
Results
Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery - Adult Cardiac Surgery Activity.
