Procedures

cardiology

CABG surgery reroutes blood around blocked or narrowed coronary arteries using grafts harvested from the patient's chest, leg, or arm. It is typically recommended when coronary artery disease is severe or extensive, or when other treatments have failed. The procedure is performed under general anaesthesia with or without cardiopulmonary bypass.

cardiology

Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) is a CABG technique performed on a beating heart without cardiopulmonary bypass. The surgeon uses tissue stabilisers to immobilise the small area of the coronary artery being grafted while the rest of the heart continues to beat. OPCAB avoids the systemic inflammatory response and other physiological consequences of cardiopulmonary bypass, but is technically more demanding than on-pump CABG and may produce slightly fewer complete revascularisations in some hands. ACC/AHA guidelines recommend OPCAB as a reasonable alternative to on-pump CABG in selected patients, particularly those with calcified ascending aortas where aortic cannulation is high-risk.

cosmetic surgery

Abdominoplasty removes excess skin and fat from the abdomen and tightens the underlying abdominal muscles. It is commonly sought after significant weight loss or pregnancy. Full abdominoplasty involves a hip-to-hip incision and navel repositioning. Mini-abdominoplasty addresses only the area below the navel.

cosmetic surgery

Breast augmentation involves the placement of silicone or saline implants to increase breast size or restore volume. Fat transfer (lipofilling) is an alternative for modest increases. The procedure is performed under general anaesthesia and typically takes 1-2 hours. Implant placement can be subglandular or submuscular.

cosmetic surgery

Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping surgery) is performed to change the shape, size, or proportions of the nose for aesthetic or functional reasons. It may involve modifying bone, cartilage, and skin. Open and closed approaches exist, each with different recovery profiles and scar visibility.

cosmetic surgery

Submuscular breast augmentation places the implant beneath the pectoralis major muscle, in contrast to subglandular placement under the breast tissue alone. The submuscular approach (which is most commonly the 'dual-plane' variant, where the upper pole of the implant is fully submuscular and the lower pole is in the subglandular plane) is preferred for patients with thin breast tissue, thin overlying skin, or a preference for a more natural-looking upper-pole transition. Compared to subglandular placement, submuscular implants have lower capsular contracture rates, better mammographic visibility, and a smoother appearance under thin tissue — at the cost of a longer recovery, more initial post-operative pain, and visible 'animation deformity' on chest contraction in some patients.

dental

Composite veneers are tooth-coloured composite resin restorations applied directly to the front surfaces of teeth to improve aesthetics. Unlike porcelain veneers, composite veneers are typically built up freehand or via injection-mould stent in the dentist's chair in a single visit. They require minimal or no enamel preparation, are reversible, and cost substantially less than porcelain — but they have a shorter functional lifespan (typically 5-7 years vs 10-15+ for porcelain), are more prone to staining, and lack the natural translucency of porcelain.

dental

A dental implant is a titanium post surgically placed into the jawbone to serve as an artificial tooth root. A crown, bridge, or denture is then attached to the implant. The procedure typically requires two visits spaced several months apart to allow for osseointegration.

dental

Dental veneers are thin shells of porcelain or composite resin bonded to the front surface of teeth to improve appearance. They address discolouration, chips, gaps, and minor misalignment. Porcelain veneers typically require two visits: preparation and bonding. The procedure involves removing a thin layer of enamel, which is irreversible.

general surgery

Hernia repair surgically corrects a protrusion of tissue (most commonly fat, omentum or bowel) through a weakness in the abdominal wall. The most common varieties are inguinal (groin), femoral, umbilical, epigastric, and incisional hernias; surgical principles are similar across all but operative approach varies. Two main techniques exist: open repair, in which the surgeon accesses the hernia through a single incision and reinforces the defect with sutures and/or a synthetic mesh, and laparoscopic (or robotic) repair, which uses small ports and a camera to place mesh from the inside of the abdominal wall. NICE TA160 supports the laparoscopic approach for selected primary unilateral inguinal hernias and for bilateral and recurrent cases, where it is associated with faster return to activity at the cost of slightly longer operating time. The choice of approach depends on hernia type, size, prior surgery, patient comorbidity and surgeon experience. Synthetic mesh has become the standard of care for most adult repairs because of materially lower recurrence rates than primary suture repair, though the trade-off is a small risk of mesh-related chronic pain or infection.

general surgery

Laparoscopic hernia repair is a minimally invasive technique in which the hernia defect is approached from inside the abdominal wall using small ports and a camera, with mesh placed in the preperitoneal space to reinforce the defect. The two main variants are transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) repair, which enters the abdominal cavity, and totally extraperitoneal (TEP) repair, which dissects the preperitoneal space without entering the peritoneum. Compared to open repair, laparoscopic approaches offer faster return to normal activity, lower acute pain, and better cosmesis — at the cost of a longer operative time, the requirement for general anaesthesia, and a steeper learning curve for the surgeon.

hair transplant

DHI (Direct Hair Implantation) is a hair transplant technique in which follicular units are extracted from a donor area using a small punch (similar to FUE) and then implanted directly into the recipient site using a Choi pen-like implanter device. The Choi implanter creates the recipient incision and inserts the graft in a single action, allowing precise control of graft angle, direction, and depth, and eliminating the need for separate recipient-site creation. DHI is marketed as a distinct technique but is, mechanically, an FUE variant that uses an implanter rather than a forceps for graft placement.

hair transplant

FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation), commonly called the 'strip technique', is a hair transplant method in which a long, narrow strip of donor scalp is surgically excised and dissected under microscopy into individual follicular units, which are then implanted into the recipient area. FUT is the older of the two main hair-transplant approaches (preceding FUE) and remains the technique of choice for very large graft counts in a single session, when donor density is limited, or when trichophytic donor closure is sought to minimise scar visibility.

hair transplant

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) involves harvesting individual hair follicles from a donor area (typically the back of the head) and transplanting them to areas of thinning or baldness. Results take 9-12 months to fully develop. The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia.

ivf fertility

IVF involves stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, retrieving those eggs, fertilising them with sperm in a laboratory, and transferring resulting embryos to the uterus. A single cycle typically spans 4-6 weeks. Success rates vary significantly by age, clinic, and protocol used.

oncology

Chemotherapy is the systemic delivery of cytotoxic drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells. The term spans many drug classes — alkylating agents, antimetabolites, antimicrotubule agents, topoisomerase inhibitors, anthracyclines and others — and many delivery routes (intravenous, oral, intrathecal, intra-arterial). Regimens are typically defined by cancer type, stage, and patient fitness, and are delivered as a sequence of cycles with rest periods to allow normal tissues to recover. Modern oncology increasingly combines cytotoxic chemotherapy with targeted therapies, immunotherapies, hormonal agents, and radiotherapy in carefully sequenced protocols. Travelling abroad for chemotherapy is uncommon and should be considered cautiously: continuity of care across cycles, access to emergency services for febrile neutropenia, and integration with home-country surveillance imaging are easier to manage when treatment is delivered close to where the patient lives.

ophthalmology

LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) reshapes the cornea using an excimer laser to correct refractive errors including myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. A thin corneal flap is created, the underlying tissue is reshaped, and the flap is repositioned. The procedure takes approximately 15 minutes per eye with rapid visual recovery.

ophthalmology

PRK is a refractive laser eye surgery in which the corneal epithelium is removed and an excimer laser reshapes the underlying corneal stroma to correct myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism. PRK predates LASIK and remains the preferred surface-ablation technique for patients with thin corneas, occupational requirements that contraindicate a corneal flap (military, contact sports), or borderline topography that makes a flap risky. Recovery is slower and more uncomfortable than LASIK because the epithelium has to heal over the treated cornea — typically 3-5 days with a bandage contact lens — but biomechanical integrity of the cornea is preserved.

ophthalmology

SMILE is a refractive laser eye procedure in which a femtosecond laser creates a small lens-shaped piece of corneal tissue (a lenticule) within the intact cornea, which is then extracted through a small peripheral incision typically 2-4mm wide. Because no corneal flap is created, SMILE preserves more of the cornea's anterior biomechanical strength than LASIK. SMILE is approved for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism; hyperopic SMILE has been approved in some markets more recently.

orthopaedic

Total hip replacement (arthroplasty) replaces the damaged femoral head and acetabulum with prosthetic components, typically used for end-stage osteoarthritis, post-traumatic arthritis, avascular necrosis, or hip fracture in older patients. Modern implants combine a femoral stem (cemented or uncemented), a femoral head (metal or ceramic), and an acetabular cup with a polyethylene, ceramic, or metal liner. Per UK NJR data, modern implant survivorship at 15 years exceeds 90% for the most-used implant combinations.

orthopaedic

Total knee replacement (total knee arthroplasty) involves replacing damaged cartilage and bone in the knee joint with metal and plastic components. It is typically performed for severe osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis that has not responded to conservative treatment. The procedure requires significant physiotherapy during recovery.

weight loss

Sleeve gastrectomy removes approximately 80% of the stomach laparoscopically, creating a tube-shaped stomach that restricts food intake and reduces hunger hormones. It is one of the most commonly performed bariatric procedures worldwide. The procedure is irreversible and requires lifelong dietary changes.

weight loss

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is a bariatric surgery that creates a small gastric pouch (typically 15-30ml) and bypasses most of the stomach and proximal small intestine. The procedure has two mechanisms: restriction (small pouch reduces meal volume) and malabsorption (bypassed proximal small bowel reduces nutrient absorption). RYGB produces typically greater weight loss than sleeve gastrectomy in many series, better resolution of type 2 diabetes and reflux disease, and a more durable long-term result — at the cost of technical complexity, higher early-complication rate, more demanding lifelong nutritional supplementation, and a small ongoing risk of internal hernia.