Dr Gilbert Gravino
Interventional & Diagnostic Neuroradiologist
MD, BSc (Hons), FRCR, FHEA, EDNI, EDiNR, EDiINR
I am a consultant interventional and diagnostic neuroradiologist. I qualified as a medical doctor (MD) in 2015 and as a diagnostic radiographer (BSc Hons., first class) in 2010, both from the University of Malta. Subsequently, I studied and worked in neurology, neurosurgery, neurocritical care, and ENT at John Radcliffe Hospital (Oxford), National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (London), and Addenbrooke's Hospital (Cambridge). I specialised in Clinical Radiology in Liverpool, and completed a 3 year sub-specialist fellowship in interventional and diagnostic neuroradiology at The Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
In 2023, I was appointed consultant at The Walton Centre (Liverpool) and an honorary consultant at Alder Hey Children's Hospital (Liverpool). I perform therapeutic minimal access operations and interventional diagnostic procedures in adults and children. This involves endovascular neurosurgery and percutaneous spine procedures to diagnose and treat deep seated disease of the brain and the spine - including ischaemic stroke, aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and fistulas (AVF), congenital vein of Galen malformations, chronic subdural haemorrhage, carotid artery stenosis, head and neck tumours, epistaxis (nose bleeds), venous stenosis and idiopathic intracranial hypertension, cerebrospinal fluid leaks and dynamic myelography, vertebroplasties for spine fractures, spine and disc biopsies, nerve root and joint injections.
​
Links: Curriculum Vitae (CV)​​ |​ LinkedIn | ResearchGate |
​​​​​Career progression
​
My experience in healthcare dates back to 2006 with the start of my career as a diagnostic radiographer (radiology technician) in Malta. During the first years of my radiography training I worked with analogue techniques at St Luke's Hospital (Malta), capturing x-ray images using silver-halide film-screen technology and developing these in a dark room. With the opening of a new state hospital, Mater Dei Hospital (Malta), I witnessed the digital revolution of medical imaging which gave me a true appreciation of the power of technology in medical practice. During my radiography training I had exposure to x-rays, fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine. As part of my radiography training I also attended a semester at Inholland University and the Academic Medical Centre in the Netherlands.
I completed my B.Sc. (Hons.) in Radiography (first class) in 2010 and continued to work as a diagnostic radiographer during further studies in medicine and surgery (MD) at the University of Malta between 2010-2015. As a medical student I worked at the Laboratory for the Study of Neurological Disorders (University of Malta) under Prof Mario Valentino, where I prepared rodent stroke-models with targeted single blood vessel occlusions using microsurgical techniques to study the role of pharmacological assays in neuroprotection in vivo and ex vivo. I also prepared cranial windows on transgenic mice for studies with high resolution 2-photon microscopy. ​As part of my medical studies I undertook an additional clinical neuroscience module (neurology and neurosurgery) at the University of Oxford (Green Templeton College) with clinical work at John Radcliffe Hospital (2013). I also did an elective placement in Neurosurgery in London at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (2014).
​
Wanting to pursue the clinical neurosciences I moved to England landing a foundation job at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge focused on neurology, neurosurgery, neurocirtical care and otorhinolaryngology (ENT), as well as other jobs in general surgery, acute medicine, and geriatric medicine (2015-2017). During this time I served as a clinical tutor to medical students at the University of Cambridge. Subsequently, I combined my interests in radiology, neuroscience, diagnostics and surgery by specialising in Clinical Radiology and eventually sub-specialised in Interventional and Diagnostic Neuroradiology at The Walton Centre and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool (England). During my training I served as a clinical lecturer for the North West Imaging Academy and I was awarded Fellowship status by the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). I also published a book titled 'A systematic approach to review computed tomography imaging: for novice radiologists in training' (2019) which has become a formative resource for many radiology trainees.
Soon after completing my sub-specialist training in 2023, I was appointed consultant at The Walton Centre (Liverpool) and an honorary consultant at Alder Hey Children's Hospital (Liverpool). ​Alongside my clinical practice, I conduct clinical research and I am currently also doing doctoral research at Keele University. Based in biomedical engineering, I work on in vitro modeling and conduct laboratory experiments exploring cerebrovascular haemodynamics and technical aspects of mechanical thrombectomy.
​​​
Qualifications
- Doctor of Medicine and Surgery (MD)
- Bachelor of Science in Radiography (First Class Honours)
- Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (FRCR)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- European Diploma in Neurointervention (EDNI)
- European Diploma in NeuroRadiology (EDiNR)
- European Diploma in Interventional NeuroRadiology (EDiINR)
​
Professional memberships
- European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) - Member
- UK Neurointerventional Group (UKNG) - Member
- European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR) - Member
- British Society of Neuroradiology (BSNR) - Member
- Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) - Associate Member
- Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) - Fellow
- General Medical Council (GMC) - Member
- Malta Medical Council (MMC) - Member
- Malta Council for Professionals Complementary to Medicine (CPCM) - Member
​