Meet the adult congenital cardiac team
Congenital cardiac surgeons
- Lavrsen, Mr Michael
Mr Lavrsen is a paediatric cardiac (children's heart) surgeon who specialises in neonatal cardiac surgery.
- Viola, Mr Nicola
Mr Viola is a cardiothoracic surgeon with a sub-specialty interest in paediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgery.
- Ravaglioli, Mr Antonio
Mr Ravaglioli is a consultant specialising in paediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgery.
- Mr Giedrius Baliulis
Congenital cardiac surgeon
Adult congenital heart disease cardiologists
Fitzsimmons, Dr SamanthaDr Fitzsimmons is an adult cardiologist with a sub-specialty interest in adult congenital heart disease.
- Dr Aisling Carroll
Consultant cardiologist
- Dr Lindsay Smith
Consultant cardiologist
Dr Nang KyiConsultant cardiologist
Dr Shivani AggarwalConsultant cardiologist
Adult congenital heart disease nurse specialists
Sarah GrayACHD nurse specialist
Physiotherapy specialist
Louise NielsenCardiothoracic and adult congenital heart physiotherapy specialist
Louisa Nielsen (BSc, HCPC, CSP) is a principal adult congenital heart physiotherapist (ACHP) at University Hospital Southampton. She has a keen interest in pre and post operative optimisation, critical care, promotion of healthy active lifestyles and developing services through evidence-based practice.
With extensive experience in contributing to both national and international conferences, she is passionate about developing resources such as the Physical Activity Toolkit for people living nationally with congenital heart conditions.
Her latest research “Does inspiratory muscle training improve inspiratory muscle strength in an adult Fontan population?’ was presented at the ESC Euro GUCH conference in May 2021.
Committed to service development and improving quality within clinical practice she has recently worked on a collaboration with international colleagues to introduce ‘’Mindful Movement’’ at UHS.
She is currently developing pre-operative services to align with cardiac enhanced recovery after surgery and is leading on the creation of national resources for patients growing older with a heart condition.
Contact Louisa on 023 8120 3687 or email louisa.nielsen@uhs.nhs.uk
Clinical psychologist
Dr Heloise HuntClinical psychologist
Heloise is a clinical psychologist and joined the ACHD team in 2022. She works to support the ACHD team and patients who are experiencing significant challenges associated with ACHD.