Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Service

The Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Service at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital is one of the busiest specialist thoracic aortic services in the UK providing comprehensive care for patients with complex aortic disease. 

Five surgeons with a specialist interest in thoracic aortic surgery operate on more than 220 patients per year. 

At the centre of the service is the Aneurysm Clinic which has well over 2000 operated patients under follow-up and another 1000 under surveillance. Patients are discussed at a monthly multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting which includes cardiac surgeons, vascular surgeons, intensivists and physicians ensuring appropriate bespoke patient centred care.

Facilities include a specialist hybrid theatre allowing hybrid procedures using stents and conventional surgery. A 24/7 specialist aortic on-call service is available 365 days per year.

We are also involved in research and innovation through collaboration with The University of Liverpool and multiple other organisations, including The Royal Brompton Hospital through The Institute of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science (ICMS) to improve the care we offer.

Training is important to us and we have had a succession of aortic fellows from around the UK and the world who have spent time with our team. Patients are supported by a specialist Aortic Nurse Practitioner and a regular Patient Forum.

Regular MDTs are available including:

1. Distal Aorta MDT
2. Proximal Aorta MDT
3. Aortopathy MDT

And starting in 2020:

1. Regional Teleconferencing Aortovascular MDT

Please contact Aortic Administrative Coordinator, to refer patient in for discussion.

Upcoming events:

• February 2024 -A celebration of 25 years of aortic surgery outcomes in Liverpool
• July 2023 - Appointment of a second Aortic Advanced Nurse Practitioner to work along side our current ANP (Una Ahern)
• September 2023 - Launch or the North West Acute Aortic Dissection Pathway on 19^th September 2023 (NHSE Aortic Dissection Toolkit)

Current News:

• February 2022 - Mr Ayman Kenawy appointed our 6^th cardiac surgeon with a specialist interest in aortic surgery
• March 2022 – Re-launch of Trans-Cranial Doppler Service for reducing stroke and delirium
• October 2022 – Appointment of a second Distal Aortic Fellow funded by Artivion in addition to long standing Aortic Fellow funded by Terumo Aortic
• May 2022- first implant of Artivion AMDS hybrid stent graft in emergency acute Type A aortic dissection
• April 2022- the team have published an important paper describing the early use of I-knife in aortic dissection.
• March 2021 - The Aortovascular Team launch the official “Aortic Big Picture” Project, endorsed by “Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust” with the aim of providing the best life-long aortic care for patients.
• November 2020 – First adult patient to undergo the Ross Procedure as part of the Aortic Service at LHCH. This is a joint venture between ACHD and Aortic Services. Further Patient Information
• September 2020 – Fifth consultant aortic surgeon appointed (Mr Ahmed Othman)
• September 2020 – Team published the experience of delivering aortic surgery in the COVID-19 pandemic showing excellent outcomes (Harky et al)

Previous News

February 2021

• Our Aortic ANP (Una Ahern) will be launching a new Small Aneurysm Clinic to see and advise newly diagnosed patients

February 2021

• The Team have a large number of abstracts accepted for presentation at the Virtual SCTS Meeting on a range of topics

March 2021

• a new joint weekly clinic (Liverpool Cardiovascular Surgery – LCS Clinic)  between cardiac and vascular surgeons will be launched, to the great advantage of patients

June 2020

• The Team has been exploring the utility of the so-called i-Knife (intelligent knife) in guiding operations on the aorta. This is an exciting development, previously used mainly in oncology surgery to identify tumour margins during operations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iknife ), but now proving potentially  helpful in aortic surgery to identify abnormal tissue.
• The preliminary data was accepted for presentation at the UK Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (March 2020) and the New York American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (April 2020) – both cancelled due to COVID restrictions.

January 2020

• We're delighted that our hybrid theatre (Theatre B) has now been upgraded, allowing better imaging, more complex intervention and safer radiation exposure for patients and staff. 

December 2019

• Our MEP Team (Lee Robertson and Gary Theobald) were recognised at the LHCH annual awards ceremony for their contribution to service innovation within the Trust. They have also been nominated for a national award through NCBC – Congratulations!

• Celia Ireland (Aortic SCP), Una Ahern (Aortic ANP), Steve Akrigg (Aortic Administrator), Lee Robertson (MEP) and Gary Theobald (MEP) have all submitted work to the nations Society for Cardiothoracic Surgeons Meeting in Wales (March 2020) and all have been accepted for presentations – Congratulations!

August 2019: 

• Mr Amer Harky (Trainee Surgeon) has had the latest research from LABB Group, on biochemical and mechanical patterns of aortic wall destruction in acute Type A aortic dissection, accepted for presentation at the American Heart Association Meeting in the USA (November 2019).

July 2019: 

• Dr Akhtar Riaz (LABB Group) won the Best Basic Sciences Abstract at the Liverpool Aortic Surgery Symposium (2019). He presented bio mechanical data in the aortic wall make-up of patients with aneurysmal disease. The decision was made by Professor Joseph Coselli.

June 2019:

• Liverpool Aortic Surgery Symposium (LASS 8) held. 

March 2019:

• Research at LHCH has attracted two awards at the recent SCTS 2019 meeting in London. Mr Theologou and Dr Akhtar both presented work which was acknowledged as worthy of an award.
• The Liverpool Aortic Surgery Symposium (LASS 8) is in the final stage of organisation with an exciting international faculty and planned for June 28^th and 29^th 2019.