Cardiothoracic Ward

The Cardiothoracic Ward cares for patients having a wide variety of cardiac or thoracic surgical procedures.

These include:

• coronary artery bypass grafting
• aortic or mitral valve replacements/repairs
  
• complex thoracic aortic surgery
  
• lobectomy
  Surgery to remove one lobe of a lung is called a lobectomy. Removal of a whole lung is called a pneumonectomy. It is still possible to breathe normally, even with only one lung.
  
• lung biopsy
  
• pleurectomy
  Surgery to remove the pleura, the sheets of tissue that cover the lungs.
  
• wedge resection
  An operation to remove a small v-shaped piece (wedge) of an organ.
  
• mediastinoscopy
  An examination of the mediastinum (the central area of the chest) via a small tube inserted through a cut at the base of the neck.
  

Patients' care usually starts before their surgery and continues post-operatively, once they have been discharged from Cardiothoracic Critical Care (CTCC).

The usual length of stay for a patient is around a week; however, some patients may require slightly longer recovery after their surgery.

The ward's patient population is a mixture of elective (patients who have been on the waiting list for surgery) and emergency admissions.

Patients are referred from within Oxford University Hospitals, by local district general hospitals, and from further afield for some specialist surgery.

Find us and contact us

• Cardiothoracic Ward
  Level 2
  John Radcliffe Hospital
  Oxford OX3 9DU
• Ward: 01865 572661
• Reception: 01865 572663
• Visiting hours: 3.00pm - 8.00pm every day
  (Rest period 1.00pm - 3.00pm)
• Cardiothoracic Surgery Matron: Gaye Hardaker
  Email: gaye.hardaker@ouh.nhs.uk
  
• Cardiothoracic Ward Sister: Nicola Axenderrie
  Email: nicola.axenderrie@ouh.nhs.uk
  

For maps of the hospital, information about transport and parking and contact details, please use the link below.

• How to find the John Radcliffe Hospital