Living life to the full

The best outcomes are those that enable patients to continue to live their life to the full.

You’re here because you, or a loved one, have been diagnosed with a heart or lung problem, which may require a surgical procedure. We are specialists in all aspects of adult heart and lung (cardiothoracic) surgery, and our surgical team is at the forefront of clinical surgery, academia and research, performing over 1,000 major operations each year. Our aim is to provide each patient with a quality of life outcome.

Through our experience, research and knowledge base we provide our patients with continuity of care and aim to provide each patient with a quality of life outcome.

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the single leading cause of death in Australia, with 19,766 Australian lives lost to the disease in 2018. On average, one Australian dies as a result of CHD every 27 minutes.1

CHD prevalence increases with age, with five per cent of Australians aged 55–64 reporting a long term CHD condition, increasing to 16% for Australians aged 75 and over.2

19,776
1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Causes of death 2013 (3303.0). March 2015.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Health Survey 2011/2012.

Life sometimes takes an unexpected turn

There are a multitude of reasons for heart or lung problems.

A patient’s journey can start with something seemingly insignificant like shortness of breath, or a more significant event like a heart attack. Other medical professionals such as General Practitioners or Specialists refer our patients, and they come from many walks and stages of life, male and female, from ex-marathon runners with blocked coronaries to young mothers who want the least invasive surgery (mini-Mitral Valve Surgery). If your condition is complex, we treat multiple-issue, often-elderly patients, who need difficult, potentially high-risk surgery.

We treat patients across Sydney’s major hospitals, including the Mater Hospital, Macquarie University Hospital, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Northern Beaches Hospital and Gold Coast patients at John Flynn Private Hospital.

More surgical procedures

 

 

 

Blocked coronaries.

SHALS
Carmel Vanderhamly

Carmel Vanderham

Clinical Care Nurse BN GDipClinCareN

Carmel Vanderham is a registered nurse and has worked in Queensland, South Australia and NSW in both private and public hospitals. She commenced nursing in 1989 and immediately chose a post-surgical pathway.

A team that works together to provide extensive support

Whatever your diagnosis, your care is our concern.

Led by Case Manager Enya kennelly, our patient support and clinical nursing team will guide you through each step, including pre-surgery meetings with the surgeon and daily hospital visits by our surgical team, post-operation. The surgeons and clinical nurse practitioners at Sydney Heart and Lung Surgeons work very closely together to provide an extensive support network for the care of patients having complex heart and lung surgery.

Meet our team