Professor Gianni Angelini was recruited in January 2010 as Clinical Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Head of Cardiac Surgery in the National Heart and Lung Institute based at the Hammersmith Campus. In 2011 he was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Professor Angelini has pioneered a technique to keep the heart beating during heart bypass surgery, avoiding the need for the artificial pump. Short-term, this ‘beating-heart surgery’ showed fewer post-surgery complications for bypass patients, and the team continue to assess the benefits longer term for heart patients.
In collaboration with Bristol colleague BHF Professor Andrew Newby, Professor Angelini has been developing tools and techniques to prevent heart bypass grafts from narrowing. One of these – a collar that surrounds the graft – is currently in early clinical tests.
His team is investigating how they can improve operations to patch up the hole in the heart seen in one in 500 newborns. The team is developing ways to regulate oxygen levels during the procedure to give babies the best chance of a quick and complete recovery after the operation.
