Perioperative and Critical Care

Perioperative
and Critical Care

You can find out more about our team here.

Over a lifetime each of us undergoes an average of four to five operations, while one in four of us are affected by critical illness.

There are over five million surgical procedures performed in the UK each year, accounting for a third of all hospital admissions, and our critical care units admit 300,000 patients each year.

We’re working to use individualised care and shared decision making to improve survival, recovery and quality of life for those experiencing surgery or critical illness.

What we are tackling – Research Questions

Improving decision making for patients and healthcare professionals

How can we improve decision making for patients and healthcare professionals?

Individualising
treatments for patients

How can individualise treatments to improve the resilience of patients undergoing surgery or critical illness?

Our impact

Our research has advanced fitness testing to support patients’ surgery decisions and built greater understanding of hypoxia to drive better targeted oxygen therapy for patients. Southampton researchers are world-leaders in the field of ‘prehabilitation’, which improves physical fitness, diet and mental health before major surgery.

We pioneered the use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) before surgery, leading many studies across different types of operation. More than two thirds of UK hospitals now use CPET testing before surgery. Read more
Our group have led professional standards and delivered more than 25 UK and overseas training courses. Working with clinical colleagues worldwide, Southampton BRC led the international CPET guidelines.
We explored people’s response to hypoxia through two expeditions in the oxygen-depleted air of Everest. Taking this knowledge into critical illness, we have identified oxygen levels that support cells without causing harm in common clinical scenarios and trialled targeted oxygen therapy in adults. Read more
Southampton research established that supervised high intensity exercise can reverse chemotherapy’s effects. Our world-first data also showed that high intensity exercise during chemoradiotherapy may increase tumour shrinkage.
Our regional WesFit trial took prehabilitation into the community. When COVID-19 hit, the SafeFit programme gave patients remote exercise, emotional and dietary support. Read more
We have advanced prehabilitation through national and international roles. We led the NIHR/RCOA/MacMillan guidance for prehabilitation in patients with cancer and contributed to further guidance from the Royal College of Surgeons/Anaesthetists.

Prehabilitation: supporting surgical patients physically and emotionally

Our world-leading research shows prehabilitation improves wellbeing, speeds up recovery and reduces problems after surgery. It may even shrink tumours. Read more

Our people

Meet key individuals leading and enabling Perioperative and Critical Care research in Southampton.