Mr Norman Briffa
Heart Surgeon
​As a cardiac surgeon who operates on adults, I perform operations on most cardiac conditions in adults that require surgery. I do however have a special interest and expertise in the following areas, bypass surgery, heart valve surgery, atrial fibrillation surgery and long term followup after heart surgery
The coronary artery bypass graft operation (or CABG) is performed to treat narrowings in the coronary arteries which can cause angina and heart attacks.
The CABG operation is usually carried out with the aid of a heart lung machine and a stopped or arrested heart. In certain situations, it is safer to carry out the CABG operation without the heart lung machine and a beating heart. In this case the operation is called an OPCAB or Off Pump Coronary Artery Bypass.
I have been trained and am proficient in both the on pump CABG operation and the OPCAB operation.
Heart Bypass Surgery
heart valve surgery
Heart Valves are structurres inside the heart that ensure blood flows in one direction.
These valves can become diseased and either become narrow, restricting the flow of blood or leak which leads to the heart muscle having to work much harder than it would otherwise have to.
The valves which commonly become diseased in the adult are the aortic valve and the mitral valve. I have a particular interest and expertise in the treatment of both aortic valve and mitral valve disease. I am able to treat aortic valve disease through a smaller incision than is used for other heart operations. This leads to a quicker recovery and return to activities of normal living. I also have the expertise to repair diseased mitral valves - leading to better long term outcomes
Professional Website of Norman Briffa, UK Cardiac Surgeon, Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement
Professional Website of Norman Briffa, UK Cardiac Surgeon, Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement
After discharge from hospital, patients undergoing heart surgery are reviewed at 6 weeks by a junior hospital doctor. As many of these doctors are inexperienced in the field of heart surgery, they are often unable to answer all questions posed by patients.
At this stage patients need to know the exact nature of the operation that has been performed, whether the operation has been a success and that they are on the right combination of drugs that will minimise any need for any further intervention or hospitalisation. All this information also needs to be communicated to the patient's GP. This requires the opinion of an experienced consultant heart surgeon.