Heart surgery

We are one of the largest providers of heart (cardiac) surgery in the UK. We treat a wide range of heart conditions, including:

  • Damaged or faulty heart valves. For more information see our heart valve service.
  • Conditions that affect the aorta, the largest artery in the body. These conditions include aortic aneurysms, aortic dissections, and other abnormalities.
  • Coronary artery disease, which occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart become narrow or blocked. 

We provide traditional open heart surgery and minimally invasive techniques which uses small incisions to access the heart. This approach results in less pain, a shorter hospital stay, and a quicker recovery time.

Types of treatment

Some of the procedures we offer include:

Valve surgery

Aortic valve surgery

An aortic valve replacement is a type of open heart surgery used to treat problems with the heart's aortic valve. The aortic valve controls the flow of blood out from the heart to the rest of the body. An aortic valve replacement involves removing a faulty or damaged valve and replacing it with a new valve made from synthetic materials or animal tissue. See our heart valve service.

Mitral valve repair

The mitral valve is a small flap in the heart that stops blood flowing the wrong way. Problems with it can affect how blood flows around the body. The main problems that affect the mitral valve are: mitral valve prolapse – the valve becomes too floppy; mitral regurgitation – the valve leaks and blood flows the wrong way; and  mitral stenosis – the valve does not open as wide as it should. These conditions can be serious, but they're often treatable. See our heart valve service.

Bypass surgery

Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG)

A coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is a surgical procedure used to treat coronary heart disease. It diverts blood around narrowed or clogged parts of the major arteries to improve blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart.

Beating heart coronary bypass surgery (OPCAB)

This procedure is similar to CABG, but it is performed on a beating heart instead of a stopped heart

Septal myectomy

A septal myectomy is an open-heart procedure used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickened heart muscle. During the procedure, surgerons remove a portion of thickened heart tissue to improve blood flow through to the heart.

Typically patients will be in hospital for one night before surgery and around one week afterwards. During your stay you will be seen every day by the specialist myectomy team to coordinate your care and answer any questions.

At St Bartholomew's Hospital we treat around 40 septal myectomy patients per year.

The majority of patients will undergo septal myectomy but in addition we perform mitral valve and atrial fibrillation surgery.

If you are a consultant cardiologist and feel your patient would benefit from septal myectomy surgery we welcome referrals for discussion at our specialist multidisciplinary team meeting.

specialist cardiology advice referrals should be directed to bhnt.icvd@nhs.net.

The septal myectomy team is comprised of a specialist group of doctors supported by a large multidisciplinary team:

Consultant cardiac surgeons

  • Mr Alex Shipolini
  • Mr Martin T. Yates

Consultant anaesthetists

  • Dr Claire Rathwell
  • Dr Lauren Tully

Consultant cardiologists

  • Dr Kostas Savvatis
  • Dr Angela Gallagher