Mathis is a liver doctor (Consultant Hepatologist) at the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, and at Ross Hall Hospital. He is the specialty adviser for liver disease to the Scottish Chief Medical Officer (liver) and gives specialist advice for liver complaints to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. He is a trained mediator and advanced appraiser and appraiser trainer for Scottish doctors.

Mathis specialises in the assessment and management of liver conditions including jaundice, abnormal liver tests, changes on liver scans including cancer, liver cirrhosis and liver damage from toxic, metabolic, genetic and autoimmune (where the immune system plays up) conditions, and liver cancer. He has a strong interest in public health and early detection of liver disease through blood tests (e.g. Fib-4 score) and liver stiffness measurement (elastography - e.g. fibroscan®).

After qualifying from Düsseldorf University and passing the US medical licensing exam (USMLE) he worked in Switzerland, Manchester and Birmingham, and undertook a research attachment in Boston before coming to Glasgow. He obtained an MD in molecular genetics from Düsseldorf University. In Birmingham, Mathis worked in the Liver Transplant Unit, obtained his PhD in Liver immunology, and worked as a Clinical Lecturer at Birmingham University. 

Mathis Heydtmann specialises in the assessment and medical management of liver disease. He feels that it is important to have sufficient time to listen to the patient's concerns and to make a correct diagnosis and treatment plan. This includes assessing the severity of liver disease through blood tests and imaging (including transient elastography). This helps making the right diagnosis, deciding on the correct follow up and finding the right treatment to suit the patient. He has good links with other specialists who might need to be involved in patients’ care including Surgeons, Dieticians, and Addiction Specialists.

Mathis maintains a keen interest in academic medicine through advancing medical knowledge in his field, through service improvement, teaching, advocacy and policy development. Research work includes epidemiology (especially early diagnosis), health economics and treatment of chronic liver disease - in Scotland in particular alcoholic liver disease. He is a Scottish Quality Improvement Fellow (cohort 9) and aims to improve liver services in Scotland. 

His key areas of interest focus on assessing and caring for patients with all aspects of liver disease (alcoholic, viral, genetic, metabolic, autoimmune liver disease and liver cancer), liver cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatitis. He also carries out diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy and colonoscopies.

• Early detection of liver disease, fibrosis and cirrhosis
• Hepatobiliary
• Hepatology
• Endoscopy
• Advanced colonoscopy
• Polyp detection and removal for prevention of colon cancer
• All aspects of acute and chronic liver disease
• Alcoholic liver disease
• Viral liver disease
• Genetic liver disease
• Autoimmune liver disease
• Chronic liver failure including management of liver transplant patients

• British Association of the Study of the Liver
• European Association of the Study of the Liver
• American Association of the Study of Liver Disease
• Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problem (SHAAP – Vice Chair of steering committee)
• British Society of Gastroenterology 
• JAG accreditation as colonoscopist and colonoscopy trainer
• Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow (and national and international membership (PACES) examiner, chair of examiner and host)
• Scottish Society of Gastroenterology