
Mr Cha Rajakaruna
Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, Spire Bristol Hospital
Speaker's biography
Mr Rajakaruna graduated from the University of Leicester and subsequently conducted a research degree in beating heart Surgery and was awarded a MD thesis from the University of Bristol. He undertook his specialist training in cardiothoracic surgery at Kings College Hospital London, Brighton Heart Centre, Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and Bristol Heart Institute. He completed an advanced fellowship year at the Yale aortic Institute in both open and endovascular aortic surgery under the tutorage of Professor John Elefteriades. He was appointed as a Consultant Cardiac surgeon to the Bristol Heart Institute in 2013. He is the lead aortic surgeon and performs the full range of surgeries and endovascular procedures on the thoracic aorta with a high volume of frozen elephant trunk procedures. He is co-lead of the pan Bristol acute aortic specialist interest group that delivers emergency care for aortic dissections. He also performs minimal access aortic valves using rapid deployment technology.
He is the lead TAVI surgeon and performs the full range of procedures including direct access and subclavian access TAVIs. He is actively involved in medical education from undergraduates to surgical trainees and has his own aortic training fellowship. He leads the surgical care practitioner training programme in Bristol. He is PI and co PI for several studies at the Bristol heart Institute focusing on bicuspid aortopathy within the Bristol cardiovascular research group.
Mr Rajakaruna has been the clinical lead for cardiac surgery since 2018 and Clinical director of the Bristol Heart Institute since 2019. He is the current deputy meeting secretary for the Society of Cardiothoracic surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland.