Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon
MB BCh BAO MD (by thesis) FRCS (C-Th)
UK and Ireland
Mr Alastair Graham is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon who provides expert medical reports in all aspects of adult (acquired) cardiac and thoracic surgery. He does not provide reports in paediatric or transplant cardiac surgery. His instructions have predominantly, but not exclusively, been on behalf of defendants.
He aims to provide reports within 21 days of accepting instructions, and sooner by agreement in urgent cases. He has experience in preparing expert reports for both the UK (compliant with the Civil Procedure Rules) and Irish legal systems. He has completed formal medico-legal training including Bond Solon and La Touche.
Mr Graham prepares medico-legal reports in personal injury cases involving thoracic (chest) injuries, including rib and sternal fractures, pulmonary contusions, pneumothorax and haemothorax, and soft tissue chest wall injuries, commonly arising from road traffic accidents and workplace incidents.
Reports address diagnosis, causation, severity of injury, treatment, recovery, and prognosis, with particular attention to ongoing symptoms such as chronic pain, respiratory limitation, and impact on work and daily activities. Reports are prepared in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules and are suitable for use in UK and Irish courts.
Mr Graham has been a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon since 2000, with appointments at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast (October 2000 to date); Blackrock Clinic, Dublin (February 2007 to date) and St James’s Hospital, Dublin (July 2024 to January 2025). He is on the Specialist Register for Cardiothoracic Surgery with both the Medical Council of Ireland (IMC No. 283939), and the General Medical Council (GMC No. 3136168).
He trained in General Surgery in Northern Ireland, achieving first place in the final FRCS (Edinburgh) examinations (GB Ong Medal). His higher surgical training in Cardiothoracic Surgery was completed at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast and the Royal Brompton Hospital. He was awarded an MD from Queen’s University Belfast for research in lung cancer pathology.
For the first 22 years of his consultant career, he practised in both cardiac and thoracic surgery. His thoracic practice included a major focus on lung cancer and thoracic trauma. He has performed over 2,300 major thoracic procedures, including anatomical lung resections and VATS surgery. He has served for 18 years as an Intercollegiate Examiner in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Since 2022, following service reconfiguration, his clinical practice has been focused on cardiac surgery. His current interests include mitral and tricuspid valve surgery, aortic valve surgery, thoracic aortic aneurysm surgery (including PEARS), coronary artery bypass grafting, and re-operative cardiac surgery.
He has extensive leadership and governance experience, having served as Clinical Director for 13 years (November 2007 to January 2021). His roles have included responsibility for clinical governance, incident reporting, medico-legal processes, and service development. He has particluar expertise in HR issues including Whistleblowing cases and MHPS invetsigations. He has also held positions as Governance Lead (January 2003 to January 2008) and Training Programme Director for Cardiothoracic Surgery (April 2010 to March 2013). He is a memeber of the Audit Committe of SCTS and is a past council member of the Irish Cardiac Society.
Trained in Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast and the Royal Brompton Hospital, London
La Touche Working as an Expert Medical Witness in the Irish Legal System
Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery of UK and Ireland, Irish Cariac Society