Francesco Maisano
Francesco Maisano MD, FESC, FHFA
Since 2021 he has been Full Professor of Cardiac Surgery and Head of Cardiac Surgery at the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, as well as covering the role of Director of the School of Specialization in Cardiac Surgery of the Vita Salute University and Director of the Heart Valve Clinic of San Raffaele, a multidisciplinary care unit dedicated to the treatment of heart valve diseases.
Professor Maisano’s main area of interest is focused on the treatment of heart valves and innovative technologies, ranging from surgical to catheter-based therapies, with a focus on training and education. He has extended his vision of the Heart Team approach to clinical practice, leading a team that can manage the full spectrum of multidisciplinary cardiovascular therapies and research programs, from heart failure to valve therapies. His work, recognized internationally, has made him one of the leading experts in the field of valvular disease (for example, he is the second expert in the world for mitral regurgitation according to expertscape.com).
Professor Maisano graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the Catholic University of Rome in 1990, obtained a postgraduate fellowship from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1994 and a master’s degree in Cardiac Surgery in 1995 from La Sapienza University in Rome.
Professor Maisano began his career in 1995 in the cardiac surgery department of Brescia managed by Prof Alfieri. one of the masters of mitral valve repair as In 1997, he followed prof. Alfieri at the San Raffaele University Hospital in Milan as a senior cardiac surgeon since 1997, developing extensive and comprehensive experience in the surgical and endovascular treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
During his experience in Milan, between 2002 and 2007 he had the opportunity, among the top 5 in the world, to undergo complementary training in interventional cardiology in the group of Prof. Antonio Colombo, one of the pioneers of interventional cardiology worldwide. In recent years he has contributed to the development of percutaneous treatment technologies for valvulopathies thanks to clinical and basic research work.
Over the past 25 years, he has filed more than 24 patents and founded several start-ups in the field of cardiovascular medicine, contributing to the creation of numerous surgical and interventional devices currently available for clinical use.
In 2013, he became Senior Staff and Head of the Transcatheter Surgical Unit at the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic of the University Hospital Zurich, where, in 2014, he was appointed Full Professor and Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery.
Since 2021 he has returned to work in Italy and has taken the place of his master, Professor Alfieri, to continue the tradition of excellence of the OSR Cardiac Surgery Unit. During his years as director, the clinic has climbed the ranking of the famous Newsweek magazine from position 49 to 38th (newsweek best specialized hospitals 2025) thanks to the implementation of high quality standards and a strategy of integration between disciplines within the valve center.
He holds various academic and scientific advisory roles at international level, is a member of professional associations, is a fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Failure Association (HFA). He has written more than 700 scientific publications with 25000 citations and an h.index of 85 (Scopus), the highest among cardiac surgeons operating in Italy. He carries out auditing and editorial board activities.
Since 2021 he has been a member of the board of PCR, an association dedicated to medical training, with the role of coordinating simulator-based training activities.
He has a very extensive surgical experience, with more than 7000 conventional and transcatheter surgeries. In the last year, it has operated on about 500 patients, with a hospital mortality of less than 1% thanks to the application of minimally invasive techniques and thanks to the essential contribution of the medical and nursing team and the overall quality of the San Raffaele Hospital.
