Research
BHF cardiac surgeon who pioneered life-saving surgery receives Lifetime Achievement Award
British Heart Foundation Professor Gianni Angelini, the first head of the Bristol Heart Institute, has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Coronary Artery Surgery for his pioneering work and research.
For the past 25 years, Professor Angelini and his team at the Bristol Heart Institute have been leading the way with a new kind of bypass surgery which has a significantly reduced mortality rate.
Beating heart surgery allows heart bypass operations to happen without having to slow the heart down, improving how the heart is protected and increasing the chances of survival for patients.
Game-changing trials
Conventional bypass surgery, how all open-heart surgery was conducted in the 1990s when Professor Angelini was first appointed as British Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Bristol, meant slowing the heart down to operate.
With funding from the British Heart Foundation from 1997 to 2005, Professor Angelini’s team conducted two trials comparing the off-pump, beating heart technique with the standard technique. Patients who had off-pump surgery appeared to suffer less damage to their heart muscle, experienced less bleeding and need for transfusion, and had fewer episodes of heart rhythm disturbance immediately after surgery.
The research suggested they may also be less likely to develop certain serious complications after surgery, such as a stroke. Their stay in hospital whilst recovering was also usually shorter.
Team effort
Beating heart surgery is more difficult to perform than other bypass surgeries, and surgeons need specialist training. However, the success of the trials in Bristol and larger studies which have been carried out since, has meant more and more surgeons are learning how to perform beating heart surgery.
Professor Angelini said: “I must always stress the contribution of everybody. You must rely on your team, particularly the anaesthetists, for this kind of surgery. I also had a lot of support from Alan Bryan, associate medical director of the Trust at the time.
“A lot of people have put a lot of effort into changing things. I joined the Trust at a very challenging time, but we had the support to try something new. If we had not developed the technique for beating heart surgery, mortality rates may never have improved and now it is becoming normal practice for more and more hospitals, in even more countries.”
"Proud to have supported his work"
Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said:
“Professor Angelini is a true pioneer in cardiac surgery, and we are proud to have supported his work for many years. In helping advance heart surgery, Professor Angelini has advanced our understanding of what is possible in cardiac medicine.
“BHF-funded research has shown that beating heart surgery can have real benefits for patients both in the short and long term. Now, with technological advances and more surgeons specifically trained to perform the technique, there is potential for it to reduce complications for more people than ever before. This is all thanks to the strong foundations laid by innovative surgeons like Professor Angelini. The British Heart Foundation would like to congratulate him on his lifetime achievement award.”