Mr Paul Modi

Mr Paul Modi is one of a small number of surgeons in the UK performing minimally invasive keyhole heart surgery and is currently the only surgeon in the UK undertaking robotic mitral valve surgery and robotic coronary artery bypass grafting. He is the only surgeon in the UK to perform Totally Endoscopic Robotic Mitral Valve Repair, and patients travel from across the world to seek his expertise. He is also a national and international trainer in these advanced techniques.

Mr Modi trained in the leading North American and German heart centres under all of the original pioneers of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery more than 20 years ago.  He spent 12 months in the United States as a Clinical Instructor in Robotic Heart Surgery, working alongside Dr Randolph Chitwood Jr at the East Carolina Heart Institute. There, he developed advanced skills in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac valve surgery and atrial fibrillation surgery. During this time, he recognised the significant benefits of keyhole heart surgery, particularly the faster recovery compared to conventional open heart surgery, where the breastbone is divided.

He was subsequently awarded two scholarships, including the prestigious Society Scholarship for Cardiac Surgery, to train with the European pioneers of minimally invasive cardiac surgery: Professor Fred Mohr in Leipzig, Germany, and Professor Hugo Vanermen in Aalst, Belgium. He undertook further super-specialist training in minimally invasive valve and coronary surgery (including MIDCAB procedures) and thoracoscopic atrial fibrillation surgery across Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands.

On returning to the UK, Mr Modi introduced many of these pioneering techniques into his UK practice. He is a Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the largest standalone specialist cardiac and thoracic surgery centre in the UK, where over 2,100 open-heart operations are performed each year.

His philosophy is to deliver the same level of surgical excellence seen in the major North American and German centres such as the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic. In addition to his clinical work, Mr Modi teaches surgical skills and basic sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and trains fellow consultants in advanced surgical techniques. He practises both within the NHS and the private sector.

Mr Modi has appeared live on the BBC’s The One Show, which featured him performing a keyhole mitral valve repair; the patient returned to playing golf just three weeks later. He has edited five surgical textbooks and authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, many focusing on the benefits and outcomes of robotic and minimally invasive cardiac surgery.