Alessandro Varrica

Dr. Alessandro Varrica is a cardiac surgeon in the Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and the Department of Cardiac Surgery for Congenital Heart Diseases in Adults at the Policlinico San Donato Clinical Research Institute in Milan.

He graduated with honors from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Palermo in 2003 and specialized in cardiac surgery with honors at the University of Rome La Sapienza in 2008.

He began his studies at the Policlinico San Donato Clinical Research Institute in 2007, under the supervision of Dr. Lorenzo Menicanti and Dr. Alessandro Frigiola. He completed an internship at Boston Children’s Hospital under the supervision of Professor P. Del Nido (2014) and at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne under the supervision of Professor C. Brizard (2019). He received his PhD from the University of Maastricht in 2017.

Dr. Varrica joined the team of specialists of the Clinical Institute Policlinico San Donato as a cardiac surgeon in 2009. After the first experience in the field of cardiac surgery for acquired defects, he continued his career, devoting himself exclusively to the treatment of congenital heart diseases in children and adults with congenital heart defects. Since 2012, he has been a member of the ECMO team of pediatricians at the Institute.

In 2015, he became Senior Surgeon for Congenital Heart Disease, with a focus on neonatal surgery, Ross surgery and the management of adults with congenital heart disease (GUCH). In recent years, he has also worked extensively with minimally invasive axillary access in the treatment of atrial septal defect and partial pulmonary venous drainage (RVPAP) in children and adolescents. As the first surgeon, he performed more than 500 cardiac surgeries in patients with congenital defects, covering the entire spectrum of pathologies, from newborns to the elderly.

From the very beginning of his career at the Policlinico San Donato Clinical Institute, Dr. Varrica has become an integral part of the international projects of the Associazione Bambini Cardiopatici nel Mondo Association, taking part in over 20 surgical missions. Since May 2015, he has been the Head of Cardiac Surgery Missions to Cameroon (Shisong), Egypt (Cairo - Police Hospital) and Morocco (Casablanca).

Dr. Varrica is a member of the Dominio Pediatrico group within the Italian Society of Cardiac Surgery (SICCH) and a member of the European Society of Cardiac Surgery (EACTS). He is the author of numerous indexed scientific publications in international journals and has participated as a speaker in many national and international congresses.