There are several hospitals that have entered into collaboration with the cardiac center here. These hospitals send teams once or more than once per year to serve the cardiac surgery needs of adults and pediatrics, and several have done so since prior to the opening of the center in 2009. One of these teams was here last week, from Modena, Italy. We performed 5 successful operations on adults ages 15-27, and including mitral valve/aortic valve replacement, Bentall procedure, and pericardial stripping for severe constrictive pericarditis. The patients have all been discharged from the ICU to the cardiac ward and some have gone home. This week there is a pediatric team from Milan led by Dr. Alessandro Giamberti and Dr. Sylvia Cirri. This team has been extremely committed to this project and is significantly responsible for the existence of the center. They have trained most of the clinical and support staff and see to it that they receive ongoing training. They will perform around 15 operations for congenital heart disease including atrioventricular canal defect, Tetrology of Fallot, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and perform a number of diagnostic and interventional catheterizations.
A side benefit of having an Italian team here was the dinner invitation. Dr. Giuseppe Gramegna prepared his special sauce and pasta from Rome and the local cooks prepared the rest of a delicious meal. After the picture below, Carolina (a perfusionist from the Modena team who stayed to assist the pediatric team) did agree to share.
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