About Us
Professor Douglas K Baird was truly a great Australian.
His commitment to excellence in medicine and surgery was obvious as a medical undergraduate when, at Sydney University, he also completed a BSc in Medicine and won seven prizes including the University Medal. He developed a passion for cardiothoracic surgery whilst an intern at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) in 1971.
As a trainee, he joined the third Australian Surgical Team to Vung Tau in the Republic of South Vietnam, where he served with great distinction.
He studied in New Zealand and the United States as a Clinical Fellow of the National Heart Foundation. He became a Visiting Medical Officer in the Cardiothoracic Surgical Unit at RPAH in 1974 and, five years later, became Head of the Department. Doug developed a unique surgical practice in Australasia, founded on the principles of mutual respect, co-operation and partner- ship. He believed firmly that surgical outcomes must be continually measured and improved and his commitment to research in surgery was unmistakable. He was instrumental in developing the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, while also developing surgical databases for his department at RPAH, and for the National Heart Foundation of Australia.
His keen intellect combined with his natural diplomacy made him an able administrator for both RPAH and Central Sydney Area Health Service. He was appointed as an advisor to the govern- ments of Singapore and Malaysia, was Chairman of the Board of Studies in Cardiothoracic Surgery (RACS)and championed a new and compassionate approach to the development of surgeons, their training and their careers.
He was devoted to his patients whom he saw as friends. Many encounters in the operating room were to become lifelong friendships. Those of us who worked with him on a daily basis knew we were in the presence of greatness yet he made us feel that our ideas were worth listening to.
He was active in the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve and in the Scouting Association of Australia and, in 1992 was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to medicine and youth.
There was no better exemplar of the ideals of science, surgery, skill and sensitivity than Douglas Kevin Baird.
Our Mission - To foster research and apply science to improve the outcomes of patients facing heart or lung surgery.
In Australia, diseases of the heart, lungs and blood vessels kill more people than any other disease. Because these diseases affect people of all ages, they can kill your grandparents, your parents, your brother or sister, or even your children.
For a 40-year-old, the risk of having coronary heart disease at some time in their future life is one in two for men and one in three for women.
Risk factors such as poor diet, decreasing levels of activity, obesity, diabetes, smoking and stress can lead to severe coronary heart disease, which is at present, predominantly treated by surgery.
Valuable research into heart and lung disease is being done but little of this time, effort and money is directed to improvements in surgical techniques for the most frequently diagnosed forms of heart and lung disease.
In 1999 12.3% of the population were above 65 years of age, by the year 2021 this proportion will have risen by 50%, presenting our community with an enormous present and future health problem.
Despite major advances in surgical techniques there is comparatively little funding for Australian research that may help the vast majority of patients who need heart or lung surgery.
The late Professor Douglas K Baird saw that there were many problems in surgical practice that require solutions in order to improve survival and patient care.
- Why do some patients have strokes after surgery?
- Why do some patients suffer more pain?
- What is the impact on the family?
- Why do some people die unexpectedly?
His vision was to identify the problem at the bedside, investigate it in the laboratory and apply the solution to future patients.
To achieve this surgeons need to be as skilled with their minds as they are with their hands (or as sharp as their knives)!
At The Baird Institute we recognise that the more complex patients of today and tomorrow require more complex treatments, and therefore more complex surgeons.
We feel collaboration is the key to success and do so with the Heart Research Institute, University of Sydney, The Centre for Thrombosis and Vascular Research and we are affiliated with the Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons and The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. We have been successful in applying for funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, ASCTS, RACS and private donors but we need more.
The surgeons in this practice are the backbone of the Institute and details of their practice can be found at www.scts.com.au.
Prof Paul Bannon
Clinical interests include all aspects of Adult Cardiothoracic surgery, Basic laboratory research with a particular interest in the systemic inflammatory response, heart failure, and bio-compatibility. Development of surgical training programs and supervision of trainees. 1992 Visting Scientist to the Institute of Experimental Cardiology, Moscow USSR. 1998 PhD, University of Sydney / Heart Research Institute, Sydney Australia. 2001 Chairman, The Baird Institute for Applied Heart and Lung Surgical Research. Specialty Editor Heart, Lung and Circulation. Editor Cardiothoracic ANZ Journal of Surgery.
Dr Matthew Bayfield
RPAH Head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery., all aspects of Adult Cardiothoracic surgery with a particular interest in cardiac resynchronisation therapy. 1999 Member, Special Committee Investigating Deaths associated with Anaesthesia. 1999, Head, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Strathfield Private Hospital. 2005 Head, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. OPCAB and MIDCAB techniques. Total arterial revascularisation. Lung Volume Reduction Surgery.
Dr Nick Hendel
Clinical interests are aortic root and aortic arch surgery. Databases and computing in surgery. Endobronchial Laser Surgery. Lung Volume Reduction Surgery. Aortic root surgery. Flying and aerobatics.
Prof Brian McCaughan
Clinical interests thoracic malignancy with a particular interest in the surgical management of mesothelioma and pre-operative assessment of lung cancer staging. 1992-4 Chairman, NSW State Royal Australiasian College of Surgeons. 1989-95 Director, Surgical Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Australia. 1996-2003 Area Director, Cardiovascular Services, Central Sydney Area Health Service, Austraila. 1997- Member, New South Wales Ministerial Advisory Committee on Quality in Health Care, Australia. 2000-04, NSW Medical Board. Carcinoma of the Lung. Mesothelioma. Thymomas. Myasthenia Gravis. Health Care Policy and Administration.
Dr Michael Wilson
Clinical interests include Adult cardiothoracic surgery, with a particular interest in left-ventricular reconstructive techniques and chronic pulmonary thrombo-embolic disease. Thoracic oncology. Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy. Myocardial preservation research. Surgery for ischaemic cardiomyopathy. SVR ventricular remodelling. Aortic root surgery and valve sparing surgery.
Prof Clifford Hughes
Surgical interests include surgery of the aortic root and aortic arch and coronary artery surgery. Other interests include quality and safety of patient care, Incident Information Management Systems, device tracking systems and clinical reporting systems.
The following annual reports are available for download as PDF documents: