Department of Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery @ Policlinico San Donato
The Minimally Invasive and Endoscopic Cardiac Surgery Department at Policlinico San Donato is a center of excellence recognized worldwide for its years of experience and success rates in various endoscopic and minimally invasive cardiac surgery procedures.
With over 20,000 cardiac interventions, of which 12,000 as the first operator, Marco Diena, the Department's Head Physician, is considered an international benchmark in the surgical treatment of adult heart disease performed with minimally invasive approach.
Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair in degenerative disease has 99.4% of successful repair rate (Congress presentation in New York at Mitral Conclave 2019).
The Department performs minimally invasive aortic surgery for Aortic Valve Replacement and Repair, while complex Aortic Repair are safely performed via sternotomy.
Since 1995 the specialists have treated over 6,500 patients for Coronary disease with Totally Arterial Myocardial Revascularization. Moreover, the Department currently performs Totally Endoscopic surgery with a 3D High Resolution Endoscopic Sistem and Cardiac Tumor Resection through minithoracotomy.
Since 1998 Dr. Diena in a quality of the Chief Cardiac Surgeon has developed some International Surgical Programs in different countries, such as Egypt, Poland, Romania, Republic of Moldova and China. As the President of The Cardioteam Foundation Onlus with his team of cardiologists he has trained more than 60 medical doctors from these countries: cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, cardio anesthesiologists.
Our excellence in numbers
Conditions we take care of at this Department
Notable advanced technological equipment
- 3D High Resolution Endoscopic System
Meet our team
Head physician
Marco Diena
The Policlinico San Donato Research Hospital is the largest and most renowned Italian center specialized in the field of cardiovascular treatments. The hospital is accredited by the Italian National Health Service (SSN) and is home to the Degree Course in Medicine and Surgery, in collaboration with the Università degli Studi di Milano.
Founded in 1969 and extending over 50,000 square meters in the south-eastern part of Milan, the multi-specialty healthcare institution is a leader in Italy and among best centers in Europe as for the amount as well as for the complexity of performed cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology procedures in children (>1,000 procedures per year) and adult patients (>1,000 surgical interventions and 6,000 interventional cardiology procedures). The San Donato’s Arrhythmology and Electrophysiology Unit delivers one of the highest numbers of cardiac ablations in the world (>1,400 per year). San Donato has a research center aimed at studying of the heart and blood vessels in adults and children and searching of new prevention and treatment methods that has been recognized by the Italian Ministry of Health as a Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Health Care (IRCCS).
San Donato is a pioneer of international cooperation and a founder of charity missions for the treatment of children with congenital heart diseases that are run in collaboration with the association “Bambini Cardiopatici nel Mondo”. Thanks to this project more than 3,000 children all over the world have received their treatment.
Since 2019, Policlinico San Donato has become home to the National Institute for Obesity Cure (INCO), a national reference center with a multidisciplinary approach for the diagnosis and treatment of obesity. Thanks to the INCO, dietary, psycho-behavioral and surgical treatments are carried out together with the most innovative video-assisted laparoscopic and mini-invasive techniques.
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