Public lecture and debate: Can

Surgery is one of the most important treatments offered to patients, with over 4.7 million operations carried out in the UK every year, according to the Royal College of Surgeons. There are over 17,000 surgeons in the UK, who have trained for many years to carry out many thousands of different procedures: replacing joints, removing tumours, repairing organs, reconstructing after injury.

Different patients respond differently to surgery, but what affects how quickly you recover? Can we tell in advance which patients are going to have complications? New surgical procedures are developed all the time, but how do we test these and how do we know whether a new procedure is better or safer? Researchers in Bristol are trying to answer these questions in the National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC).

In his lecture ‘I’m a heart surgeon – should you trust me?’ Gianni Angelini, British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiac Surgery, will share some of his experiences as a cardiac surgeon and talk about the research being carried out in the BRC’s Cardiovascular Theme to develop new treatments for cardiovascular disease.

Professor Debbie Lawlor CBE will chair a debate on ‘Can surgical research improve health?’ Professor Jane Blazeby, Professor of Surgery, will speak about the research in the BRC’s Surgical Innovation theme, on how we evaluate and monitor new surgical procedues and whether we really can trust research based surgery. Patients will also talk about their experiences of surgery.

NIHR Bristol BRC researchers will be available after the event to talk about their work and how members of the public can get involved.

Book your place