As one of the largest and most technically advanced Cardiac Surgery units in the country, the Cardiac Surgery Service at Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, provides tertiary level services for the East Midlands, including Leicester, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, West Cambridgeshire (Peterborough), Northants (mainly Kettering), and Burton. The population referral base is around 2 million for adult Cardiac Surgery and as Aortic Dissection Centre for the East Midlands region; Cardiac Surgery at the Trust enjoys a prestigious position with excellent clinical outcomes. Due to working closely with local universities, we play a vital role in teaching the next generation of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Glenfield Hospital has become one of the world's busiest extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) centres and the only hospital in the UK to provide ECMO therapy for both adults and children. ECMO, in 1989 the therapy was introduced to the UK by Richard Firmin and Andrzej Sosnowski, based at Glenfield Hospital (then Groby Road Hospital). This treatment was generously supported by Heart Link Children's Charity, and to this day Heart Link are an integral part of the service.
Glenfield Hospital is registered with the Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation (ELSO) and is one of the world's most experienced hospitals in using ECMO. Glenfield Hospital offers a specialist training course for national practitioners and people from overseas, many attending from Europe and as far as the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Our policy dictates the prompt acceptance of urgent & emergency patients who may need cardiac surgery. Patients with demonstrated surgical problems are accepted directly under cardiac surgeons in a cardiac surgical ward. We are keen to undertake extra investigations in our centre, i.e. carotid Doppler, ECHO (transthoracic or transoesophageal), CT scan, and MRI test for viability and hibernation.
The Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons in England has recognised our unit as the 8th largest unit in UK among 38 other units performing adult cardiac surgery. Our overall operative observed mortality is amongst the best in the UK.
Our unit provides high-quality services in the entire spectrum of Adult Cardiac Surgery. This includes Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, Aortic Valve Surgery, Aortic Valve Repair, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), Sutureless Aortic Valves, Mitral Valve Surgery, Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA), Surgery for heart failure and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery.
From 2007 to the present, we perform about 1,100 cases per year. Of these cases, only 45% were first-time CABG which shows that our unit accumulates more complex cases, including aortic and mitral valve surgery, as well as complex surgery of the aorta and adult congenital cases.
Our dedicated aortic team specialises in treating a wide range of aortic problems, including aortic aneurysm (dilatation of the aorta) or aortic dissections (split in the aortic wall along its length). We perform a wide range of complex elective repairs as well as emergency lifesaving operations. We work closely with other specialists, including vascular surgeons, to provide around-the-clock care to give our patients the best care they deserve.
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