Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos

MD, PHD

Consultant Thoracic Surgeon

Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos is a Consultant Thoracic Surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, who specializes in treating cancers of the chest. These types of cancer include lung cancer, thymic tumors, neuroendocrine tumors, and mesothelioma. He has experience in using the latest technology including Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) and the Da Vinci Robotic System to diagnose and treat a wide variety of diseases of the lung, mediastinum and chest wall. Mr Panagiotopoulos performs these operations through small incisions with the goal of minimizing discomfort and accelerating recovery. He also focuses on techniques and procedures to improve symptoms and quality of life in people with advanced cancer. Working with his experienced colleagues in medical and radiation oncology, we emphasize in treatment plans that are unique and are tailored to each patient’s needs.

Mr Panagiotopoulos has an interest in benign conditions such as chest wall deformities (pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum) and their surgical management with the NUSS procedure and the Ravitch technique. Another area of clinical interest is surgery for hyperhidrosis with keyhole thoracoscopic approach.

A significant portion of his time is also spent performing scientific research to better understand how tumors form and investigate new ways to treat them.

Mr Panagiotopoulos has developed a strong academic interest leading to a significant number of publications and presentations in various national and international conferences.

Hospital Locations

Royal Free Hospital

Year qualified

2005

Country of qualification

Greece

Languages spoken

English, Greek, German

Specialities

Cardiothoracic Surgery
Thoracic Surgery

Memberships

ESTS
CWIG
ITMIG
ATS
ISMICS

Registration and licensing

GMC:7076117

Procedures offered

Robotic Lobectomy
Robotic Thymectomy
VATS lobectomy
VATS thymectomy
VATS sympathectomy
Mediastinal Mass Resection
VATS Pneumothorax Surgery
VATS Lung Biopsy
Surgery of the Diaphragm
Airway Surgery
NUSS Procedure
Ravitch Procedure

Special interests

Robotic Assisted Thoarcic Surgery
Chest wall Surgery
Hyperhidrosis Surgery

Research interests

Enhanced Recovery in Thoracic Surgery

Published papers

Surgical approach in oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Patrini D, Panagiotopoulos N, Bedetti B, Mitsos S, Crisci R, Solli P, Bertolaccini L, Scarci M. Ann Transl Med. 2018 Mar;6(5):93. Review
The role of surgical resection in Unicentric Castleman’s disease: a systematic review. Mitsos S, Stamatopoulos A, Patrini D, George RS, Lawrence DR, Panagiotopoulos N. Adv Respir Med. 2018;86(1):36-43.
Tracking the Evolution of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Jamal-Hanjani M, Wilson GA, McGranahan N, Birkbak NJ, Watkins TBK, Veeriah S, Shafi S, Johnson DH, Mitter R, Rosenthal R, Salm M, Horswell S, Escudero M, Matthews N, Rowan A, Chambers T, Moore DA, Turajlic S, Xu H, Lee SM, Forster MD, Ahmad T, Hiley CT, Abbosh C, Falzon M, Borg E, Marafioti T, Lawrence D, Hayward M, Kolvekar S, Panagiotopoulos N, Janes SM, Thakrar R, Ahmed A, Blackhall F, Summers Y, Shah R, Joseph L, Quinn AM, Crosbie PA, Naidu B, Middleton G, Langman G, Trotter S, Nicolson M, Remmen H, Kerr K, Chetty M, Gomersall L, Fennell DA, Nakas A, Rathinam S, Anand G, Khan S, Russell P, Ezhil V, Ismail B, Irvin-Sellers M, Prakash V, Lester JF, Kornaszewska M, Attanoos R, Adams H, Davies H, Dentro S, Taniere P, O’Sullivan B, Lowe HL, Hartley JA, Iles N, Bell H, Ngai Y, Shaw JA, Herrero J, Szallasi Z, Schwarz RF, Stewart A, Quezada SA, Le Quesne J, Van Loo P, Dive C, Hackshaw A, Swanton C; TRACERx Consortium. N Engl J Med. 2017 Jun 1;376(22):2109-2121.
Fc-Optimized Anti-CD25 Depletes Tumor-Infiltrating Regulatory T Cells and Synergizes with PD-1 Blockade to Eradicate Established Tumors. Arce Vargas F et al. Immunity. 2017 Apr 18;46(4):577-586.
Phylogenetic ctDNA analysis depicts early stage lung cancer evolution. Abbosh C, Birkbak NJ, Wilson GA, Jamal-Hanjani M, Constantin T, Salari R, Quesne JL, Moore DA, Veeriah S, Rosenthal R, Marafioti T, Kirkizlar E, Watkins TBK, McGranahan N, Ward S, Martinson L, Riley J, Fraioli F, Bakir MA, GrÖnroos E, Zambrana F, Endozo R, Bi WL, Fennessy FM, Sponer N, Johnson D, Laycock J, Shafi S, Czyzewska-Khan J, Rowan A, Chambers T, Matthews N, Turajlic S, Hiley C, Lee SM, Forster MD, Ahmad T, Falzon M, Borg E, Lawrence D, Hayward M, Kolvekar S, Panagiotopoulos N, Janes SM, Thakrar R, Ahmed A, Blackhall F, Summers Y, Hafez D, Naik A, Ganguly A, Kareht S, Shah R, Joseph L, Quinn AM, Crosbie P, Naidu B, Middleton G, Langman G, Trotter S, Nicolson M, Remmen H, Kerr K, Chetty M, Gomersall L, Fennell DA, Nakas A, Rathinam S, Anand G, Khan S, Russell P, Ezhil V, Ismail B, Irvin-Sellers M, Prakash V, Lester JF, Kornaszewska M, Attanoos R, Adams H, Davies H, Oukrif D, Akarca AU, Hartley JA, Lowe HL, Lock S, Iles N, Bell H, Ngai Y, Elgar G, Szallasi Z, Schwarz RF, Herrero J, Stewart A, Quezada SA, Van Loo P, Dive C, Lin CJ, Rabinowitz M, Aerts HJ, Hackshaw A, Shaw JA, Zimmermann BG; TRACERx consortium.; PEACE consortium., Swanton C. Nature. 2017 Apr 26;545(7655):446-451.
Allele-Specific HLA Loss and Immune Escape in Lung Cancer Evolution. McGranahan N, Rosenthal R, Hiley CT, Rowan AJ, Watkins TBK, Wilson GA, Birkbak NJ, Veeriah S, Van Loo P, Herrero J, Swanton C; TRACERx Consortium. Cell. 2017 Oct 21. pii: S0092-8674(17)31185-6.
The role of sympathectomy in long QT syndrome. Antonopoulos A, Lawrence D, Patrini D, Scarci M, George R, Hayward M, Mitsos S, Panagiotopoulos N. J Thorac Dis. 2017 Sep;9(9):3394-3397.
Lymphovascular infiltration in the tumor bed is a useful marker of biological behavior in breast cancer. Panagiotopoulos N, Lagoudianakis E, Pappas A, Filis K, Salemis N, Manouras A, Kontzoglou K, Zografos G. J BUON. 2016 Sept-Oct;21(5):1082-1089.
Conservative versus Surgical Management of Iatrogenic Tracheal Rupture. Panagiotopoulos N, Patrini D, Barnard M, Koletsis E, Dougenis D, Lawrence D. Med Princ Pract. 2017;26(3):218-220.
Retrosternal goitre: The role of the thoracic surgeon. Tsilimigras D, Patrini D, Antonopoulou A, Lawrence D, Hayward M, Panagiotopoulos N. J Thorac Dis 2017;9(3):860-863.
Surgical management of lung metastases. Patrini D, Panagiotopoulos N, Lawrence D, Scarci M. Br J Hosp Med (Lond). 2017 Apr 2;78(4):192-198.
The role of BioGlue in thoracic surgery: a systematic review. Tsilimigras D, Antonopoulou A, Stathopoulos I, Patrini D, Papagiannopoulos K, Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N. J Thorac Dis 2017;9(3):568-576.
Is brachytherapy effective for local recurrence control in sublobar resections for non-small-cell lung cancer? Patrini D, Lawrence D, Adams B, Panagiotopoulos N. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2015 Nov; 21(5):677-81.
The application of Plasmajet Surgical System for the Thoracic Empyema decortication- A novel technique. Panagiotopoulos N, Patrini D, Shukla R, Hayward M, Lawrence D. Published on CTSnet (http://ctsnet.org).
Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumour of the lung – A reactive lesion or a true neoplasm? Panagiotopoulos N, Patrini D, Gvinianidze L, Woo Wl, Borg E, Lawrence D. J Thorac Dis 2015.
Congenital sternal cleft in an adult male not associated with cardiac defects or ectopia cordis. Pousios D, Panagiotopoulos N, Piyis A. Ann Thorac Surg. 2007 May; 83(5):1900.
Does endoscopic treatment for early oesophageal cancers give equivalent oncological outcomes as compared with oesophagectomy? Fovos A, Jarral O, Panagiotopoulos N, Podas T, Mikhail S, Zacharakis E. Int J Surg. 2012;10(9):415-20. 2012 Jul 5.
Etiology and management of spontaneous haemothorax. Patrini D, Panagiotopoulos N, Pararajasingham J, Iqbal Y, Gvinianidze L, Lawrence D. J Thorac Dis 2015 Mar;7(3):520-6
Diaphragmatic agenesis in an adult; diagnosis and surgical management. Pousios D, Panagiotopoulos N, Piyis A. Surg Today. 2010 Apr; 40(4):357-9. Epub 2010 Mar 26.
Prevalence of Raynaud’s phenomenon in young Greek males. Tzilalis V, Panagiotopoulos N, Papatheodorou G, Rallis E, Kassimos D. Clin Rheumatol. 2011 Jan; 30(1):57-9.
Single port video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy. Bedetti B, Solli P,Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N, Hayward M, Scarci M. J Vis Surg 2016;2:149.
Open repair of pectus carinatum. Scarci M, Bertolaccini L, Panagiotopoulos N, Bedetti B. Journal of Visualised Surgery. J Vis Surg 2016;2:50.
Iatrogenic tracheal rupture- the role of a thoracic surgeon. Panagiotopoulos N, Gulamhussein M, Patrini D, Shukla R, Lees M, Hayward M, Kolvekar S, Lawrence D. Int J Respir Pulm Med 2015, 2:4.ISSN: 2378-3516.
The challenging management of hepatopulmonary fistulas. Panagiotopoulos N, Kontoravdis N, Lawrence D. J Thorac Dis. 2014 Sep;6(9):1336-9.
The snoopy sign – Congenital complete absence of the pericardium. Panagiotopoulos N, Barnard J, Wells F. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2013 Jun 30.
The challenging management of lung choriocarcinoma. Gvinianidze L, Panagiotopoulos N, Woo WL, Borg E, Lawrence D. J Thorac Dis. 2014 Oct;6(10):E220-2.
Primary epithelioid sarcoma of the Pleura- an intricate diagnosis. Panagiotopoulos N, Gelvez- Zapata S, Rassl D, Coonar A, Scarci M. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 2013 Sep;96(3):e79.
Effect of Acute Surgical Stress on Serum Ghrelin Levels. Kontoravdis N, Vassilikostas G, Lagoudianakis E, Pappas A, Seretis C, Panagiotopoulos N, Koronakis N, Chrysikos J, Karanikas G, Manouras I, Legakis I, Voros D. Gastroenterology Research, Vol. 5, No. 3, Jun 2012.
In search of acute surgical stress biomarkers: Is ghrelin a potential candidate? Kontoravdis N, Vassilikostas G, Lagoudianakis E, Pappas A, Seretis C, Panagiotopoulos N, Koronakis N, Chrysikos J, Karanikas G, Manouras I, Legakis I, Voros D. J Res Med Sci. 2013 Nov;18(11):1016-7.
Primary synovial sarcoma of the lung: can haemothorax be the first manifestation? Woo WL, Panagiotopoulos N, Gvinianidze L, Fhadil S, Borg E, Falzon M, Lawrence D. J Thorac Dis. 2014 Dec;6(12):E249-51.
Demonstration of an intrathoracic rib with computed tomography and three-dimensional reconstruction. Argyriou P, Pousios D, Tsocanas D, Psathakis C, Panagiotopoulos N, Piyis A. Ann Thorac Surg. 2007 Dec;84(6):2117.
Iatrogenic pneumomediastinum and facial emphysema after surgical tooth extraction. Pousios D, Panagiotopoulos N, Sioutis N, Piyis A, Gourgiotis S. Ann Thorac Surg. 2010 Feb;89(2):640.
Transthoracic repair of asymptomatic Morgagni hernia in an adult. Pousios D, Panagiotopoulos N, Piyis A, Gourgiotis S. Ind. J Surg. Indian J Surg. 2012 Oct; 74(5):431-3.
Primary mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus presenting with myasthenia gravis. Woo WL, Panagiotopoulos N, Gvinianidze L, Proctor I, Lawrence D. J Thorac Dis. 2014 Oct;6(10):E223-5.
Isolated laparoscopic caudate lobe resection. Kyriakides C, Panagiotopoulos N, Jiao LR.Surg Laparosc Endosc Percutan Tech. 2012 Aug; 22(4):e209-209.
Laparoscopic resection of giant exophytic liver haemangioma with the laparoscopic HabibTM 4X bipolar radiofrequency resection. Panagiotopoulos N, Acharya M, Bhaskaran P, Kyriakides C, Pai M, Habib N. World J Gastrointest Surg 2012 August 27; 4(8): 199-202.
Poorly-differentiated signet-ring cell carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater: a rare malignancy. Acharya MN, Panagiotopoulos N, Cohen P, Ahmad R, Jiao LR. JOP. 2013 Mar 10; 14(2):190-4.
Epithelial inclusion cyst arising within an intra-pancreatic splenunculus. Panagiotopoulos N, Acharya M, Ahmad R, Bansi D, Jiao L. Int J Surg. 2012; 3(3):118-20. Epub 2011 Dec 29.
Recurrent Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma Arising from the Small Bowel Mesentery. Panagiotopoulos N, Kyriakides C, Weerakkody RA, Ahma R, Buchanan G, Lowdell C, Jiao LR.J Gastrointest Cancer. 2011
Cavernous haemangioma of the rib: a rare diagnosis. Gourgiotis S, Piyis A, Panagiotopoulos N, Panayotopoulos P, Salemis NS. Case Report Med. 2010; 2010:254098. Epub 2010 May 31.
Primary intra-abdominal malignant fibrous histiocytoma: a highly aggressive tumour. Salemis NS, Gourgiotis S, Tsiambas E, Panagiotopoulos N, Karameris A, Tsohataridis E. J Gastrointest Cancer. 2010 Dec; 41(4):238-42.
Colonic obstruction secondary to incarcerated Spigelian hernia in a severely obese patient. Salemis N, Kontoravdis N, Gourgiotis S, Panagiotopoulos N, Gakis C, Dimitrakopoulos G. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2010;1(3):27-9. Epub 2010 Oct 16.
Struggling with a Gastric Volvulus Secondary to a Type IV Hiatal Hernia. George D, Apostolos PV, Athanasios P, Emmanuel L, Nikolaos K, Nikolaos P, Charalampos S, George K, Andreas MJ. Case Report Med. 2010; 2010:257497. Epub 2010 Oct 25.
Bilateral ovarian fibrothecoma, an uncommon cause of a large pelvic mass. Salemis N, Panagiotopoulos N, Papamichail V, Kiriakopoulos K, Niakas E. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2011;2(3):29-31. Epub 2010 Dec 13.
Acute Surgical Abdomen Due to Phytobezoar-induced Ileal Obstruction. Salemis NS, Panagiotopoulos N, Sdoukos N, Niakas E. J Emerg Med. 2013 Jan;44(1):e21-3.
A case of biphasic pulmonary blastoma presenting in a 55 year-old man. Pararajasingham J, Lawrence D, Patrini D, Gulamhussein M, Borg E, Panagiotopoulos N. Case Reports in Clinical Pathology 02/2015; 2(3).
Hepatopulmonary Fistula: a life threatening complication of hydatid disease. Gulamhussein MA, Patrini D, Pararajasingham J, Adams B, Shukla R, Velissaris D, Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N. J Cardiothorac Surg. 2015 Jul 29;10(1):103.
A novel sutureless technique for the repair of coronary sinus injuries. Panagiotopoulos N, Patrini D, Adams B, Lawrence D, Roberts N. J Thorac Dis. 2015 Dec;7(12):2359-61. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.12.43.
3rd Generation EGFR TKIs- A Major Breakthrough for NSCLC Treatment. Panagiotopoulos N, Lawrence D. J. of Respiratory Res.2015 November 1(1):49-60. ISSN 2409-0579.
Key Features in the Management of Pulmonary Carcinosarcoma. Panagiotopoulos N, Patrini D, Adams B, Pararajasingham J, Shukla R, Borg E, Hayward M, Lawrence D. Case Rep Pulmonol. 2016;2016:2020146.
Sclerosing hemangioma of the lung showing strong FDG avidity on PET scan: Case report and review of the current literature. Patrini D, Shukla R, Lawrence D, Borg E, Hayward M, Panagiotopoulos N. Respiratory Medicine Case Reports, Vol. 17, p20–23.
The Potential Malignancy of a Solitary Fibrous Tumour of the Lung. Shukla R, Patrini D, Borg E, Lawrence D, Hayward M, Panagiotopoulos N. Case Rep Pathol. 2015;2015:209490.
A retained foreign body granuloma mimicking a left ventricular psuedoanuerysm. Patrini D, Gulamhussein MA, Pellegrino P, Redaelli M, Pararajasingham J, Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2016;28:57-59.
IgG4 related lung disease extending to the thoracic vertebrae. Stamatopoulos A, Patrini D, Koletsis E, Borg E, Khiroja R, Hayward M, Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N. Respir Med Case Rep. 2016 Oct 7;19:162-165.
Acute Acute Airway Obstruction Following Elephant Trunk Procedure. A Rare and Lethal Complication. Panagiotopoulos N, Disalvo C, Shukla R, Patrini D, Adams B, Afoke J, Yap J. Aperito J Surg and Anaesth 2015; 2:1.
An unusual late onset of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis: A case report and literature review. Stamatopoulos A, Patrini D, Mitsos S, Khiroya R, Borg E, Hayward M, Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N. Respir Med Case Rep. 2017 May 31;22:24-27.
Mediastinal hemangioendothelioma: Case report and review of the literature. Patrini D, Scolamiero L, Khiroya R, Lawrence D, Borg E, Hayward M, Panagiotopoulos N. Respir Med Case Rep. 2017 Jun 3;22:19-23.
Arterial thoracic outlet syndrome treated successfully with totally endoscopic first rib resection. Mitsos S, Patrini D, Velo S, Antonopoulos A, Hayward M, George R, Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N. Case Rep Pulmonol.
Endobronchial Carcinoid Tumor Totally Occluding the Left Main Bronchus Without Producing Symptoms of Bronchial Obstruction. Tsilimigras DI, Moris D, Ntanasis-Stathopoulos I, Patrini D, Panagiotopoulos N. In Vivo. 2017 Sep-Oct;31(5):1023-Endobronchial ultrasound convex probe for lymphoma, sarcoidosis, lung cancer and other thoracic entities. A case series. Zarogoulidis P, Huang H, Bai C, Kosmidis C, Trakada G, Veletza L, Tsiouda T, Barbetakis N, Paliouras D, Athanasiou E, Hatzibougias D, Kallianos A, Panagiotopoulos N, Papaemmanouil L, Hohenforst-Schmidt W. Respir Med Case Rep. 2017 Aug 19;22:187-196.
Is pneumonectomy a justified procedure in patients with persistent N2 nonsmall cell lung cancer disease following induction therapy. Mitsos S, Petko M, Patrini D, Hayward M, Scarci M, Lawrence D, Panagiotopoulos N. Indian J Cancer. 2017 Jan-Mar;54(1):73-81.