Department of Peri-Operative Cardiology and Cardiovascular Imaging

Peri-Operative Cardiology

The Peri-Operative Cardiology Unit together with the Post-Intensive Cardiosurgery Unit were born in 2022 to begin a new path of treatment for patients candidated for cardiac surgery, to better combine the high specialization, the expertise and experience of cardiologists and cardiosurgeons.

At Centro Cardiologico Monzino cardiologists and cardiosurgeons closely cooperate toghether also with the nurses and the physiotherapists in order to achieve the best results.

For example, the cardiologists (who deal mainly with the normal routine of the department), being experts in cardiovascular imaging actively contribute to the instrumental diagnosis in the pre and post-operative fase. The cardiosurgeons, out of the operating room, mainly deal with the surgical problems such as the control and the cure of the surgical wounds, the chest drains, or of definitely invasive approaches, like the evacuative thoracentesis of pleural effusions or the drainage of a pneumothorax.

This collaboration has allowed to arrive at a "whole" that is higher than the "sum of its parts" thanks to the unique and cohesive team of cardiologists and cardiosurgeons.

Research Activities

  • The Department as a whole addresses several research topics.
    These are the main ones:

    • superiority of three-dimensional technology in the assessment of right and left atrial function, mitral prolapse and intraoperative monitoring;
    • practicability and accuracy of non-invasive assessment with coronary artery native CT, stent and aorto-coronary bypass;
    • new cardiac CT techniques with reduced radiation doses while maintaining high accuracy in the evaluation of native and stent coronaries;
    • use of cardiac MRI in the development of new methods of studying heart cavities and valve systems;
    • new biomedical engineering approaches in evaluating cardiac image with three-dimensional technology to better follow ventricular remodeling after cardiac surgery and study the dynamics of mitral and aortic valves;
    • collaboration with other Departments for a multidisciplinary approach in specific contexts in the evaluation of patients to undergo electrophysiological procedures, therapies for heart failure, coronary angioplasty procedures, cardiac surgery (in particular in the percutaneous closure of the left auricle, implantation of percutaneous or transapical aortic valves and percutaneous repair with mitral-mitral-clip valve).

Other Activities

  • Educational activities

    Most of the clinicians provide their collaboration with the University of Milan carring on teaching activities.
    The laboratory hosts every 3 months a rotation of specialists in cardiology, and provides the logistics and tutors necessary for the preparation of theses.
    The laboratory also welcomes medical visitors from other Italian and foreign Institutes, for educational purposes.

    National and international scientific activities

    The clinicians are involved in several national and international congresses and courses as speakers.