Latest news with #BristolHeartInstitute
BBC News
12-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Award for heart surgeon who created sewing machine-inspired device
A surgeon who was inspired by his aunt's sewing machine to invent a pioneering heart surgery device has been given an Gianni Angelini, a surgeon at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, was one of many surgeons faced with the problem of being unable to stitch a moving heart during coronary artery while visiting his family in Italy in the 1990s, he watched his aunt use a sewing machine to stitch a pair of his trousers - and was inspired to create a stabilising surgical has now been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Coronary Artery Surgery for his work on The Angelini articulated stabiliser. "I was visiting the family," said Prof Angelini. "I'd just bought a pair of trousers which needed to be shortened."My aunty, a seamstress, was doing the job. And suddenly, I saw the foot of the sewing machine which was pressing against the trousers."And I realised then, I needed something like that."Prof Angelini and his team at the Bristol Heart Institute then pioneered a new technique to perform coronary artery bypass surgery on a beating heart using his enables operations to take place without having to slow the patient's heart down, which improves how the heart is protected and increases the chances of survival for this, a bypass machine had to be used to pump blood around the patient so the heart could remain still and be operated on – a procedure which can come with complications. Prof Angelini designed the stabiliser device and devoted two years of his career to its development. The device was made of stainless steel and cost about £800, but it could be reused hundreds of disposable stabilisers are more commercially available, prototypes like Prof Angelini's stabiliser have paved the way for modern-day inventions. He said: "When I started my training in the early 1980s, the mortality for coronary artery bypass surgery was around 15% to 20%; now it is down to 1% to 2%."In 2024, Prof Angelini was named as one of the Seven Wise Cardiac Surgeons of the Golden Age of the 1990s, a reference to the Ancient Greek tradition of naming the seven wisest men. Prof Angelini said he was honoured alongside some of his heroes at the Old Greek Parliament."It was very exciting, because the other six people were what I'd describe as my heroes," he said."I was really the baby of the bunch because these guys were the generation before mine."I felt pleased with this as a recognition from my peers and to be in the presence of such distinguished surgeons."
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Southmead Hospital investigates sudden death of father
The family of a 40-year-old software engineer claim he was given minimal medical attention after a cardiac arrest, as the hospital launches a Hospital in Bristol is investigating the death of new father Sunil Rastogi, who was allegedly left unmonitored, despite what his family feels were signs of a serious heart condition. "The kids when they are grown up will ask me what happened with daddy, why he was not saved. I need the truth," explained Priya Rastogi. A hospital spokesperson said: "As a result of Sunil's death, we have already started a comprehensive review to understand the full circumstances of what happened." His family say Mr Rastogi woke early at home on 18 February 2025, suffering from severe stomach discomfort and over the next few hours started to vomit and have heart about 09:00 GMT, paramedics arrived and took an Rastogi took a photo of the reading that was marked as "abnormal" for a man aged over 40 and showed "a possible subendocardial injury".When they arrived at Southmead, Mrs Rastogi claims her husband was put in a ward where there was no continuous monitoring of his Rastogi says she believes the abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) results were potentially overlooked. She claims Mr Rastogi was only attended to by a group of doctors at noon, when family friend Mukesh Kulsreth raised the alarm after he gasped for breath. Mr Kulsreth told the BBC: "When I arrived, there were no doctors and I felt his body is a little colder. "No monitoring was there in the room and suddenly he started losing his breath and then I rushed to the emergency desk and the nurses didn't respond quickly."It was not until the family pleaded again with staff that they claim that doctors arrived for the very first time. The family say they were told that he had had a cardiac arrest at 12:10 GMT and at 12:45, the family were informed that Mr Rastogi had died. Prof Steve Hams, chief nursing officer at North Bristol Trust, said they would like to offer their "deepest condolences" to the family following their loss. "I want to acknowledge the profound impact this has had on them and assure them, and the wider public, that we take this matter with the utmost seriousness," Mr Hams said. Sanjeev Shukla, speaking on behalf of the family, said: "We are concerned it took two hours for an ambulance to arrive and he should have been given greater priority in their triage.""We feel he should have been taken to the Bristol Heart Institute where he would have been in the hands of cardiac experts," they added.A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: "We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Rastogi following his sad death."They added they would review the case and share findings with the family after it had taken place. Deportation threat After bringing up her family in Bristol for more than three years, Mrs Rastogi, 38, is now facing deportation, as she can no longer rely on her husband's work visa. Family friends are crowdfunding to support Mrs Rastogi and her children as Mr Rastogi was the only breadwinner.
