The Keyhole Heart Clinic expands to The Park Hospital — led by University of Nottingham graduate and national Entrepreneur of the Year, Dr Inder Birdi.

Patients across the Midlands can now access world-class keyhole heart surgery closer to home, after The Keyhole Heart Clinic officially launched its regional base at The Park Hospital, Nottingham.

The milestone was marked by the successful completion of a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, carried out by Dr Inder Birdi and the hospital’s cardiac team, the first of many advanced procedures planned for the region.

Learning that one needs open-heart surgery can be a daunting prospect, not least because it traditionally involves splitting the breastbone and a lengthy recovery period.

Dr Inder Birdi and his team at The Keyhole Heart Clinic have spent more than 20 years developing and performing keyhole techniques that avoid this entirely. Instead of opening the chest, surgeons work through small incisions between the ribs, meaning less pain, a lower risk of infection, and recovery measured in days rather than months.

For Dr Birdi, who trained at the University of Nottingham, the launch represents a proud homecoming.

“This moment means a great deal to me personally,” said Dr Birdi. “I began my medical journey here in Nottingham, so to return and introduce these pioneering keyhole techniques with such a skilled local team feels incredibly special.”

Dr Birdi, who was recently named UK Entrepreneur of the Year at Entrepreneurs Circle’s National Entrepreneurs Awards, founded The Keyhole Heart Clinic in London to make advanced, minimally invasive heart surgery more accessible to patients across the UK.

“Scaling excellence means stepping back and letting great teams step forward,” Dr Birdi added. “True growth — in medicine or any field — comes from trust, systems, and shared values that allow excellence to happen everywhere, not just in one place. That begins here in Nottingham but this is just the start.”

Over the next 12 months, the partnership at The Park Hospital will expand to offer the full range of keyhole heart procedures, ensuring patients across the Midlands can benefit from the latest innovations in cardiac care without needing to travel to London.