Roberto Lorusso

Professor

Prof. Roberto Lorusso studied medicine at the University of Milan, Italy and graduated in 1987 magna cum Laude. He worked at Maastricht UMC+ in 1990 at CTC research and in 1996 and 1997 at the academic Hospital of Leuven. In 1998, he successfully obtained his PhD degree at Maastricht University (thesis titled 'Cardiac reinforcement and assistance by electrically stimulated skeletal muscle').

Currently, Prof. Roberto Lorusso is staff member at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Maastricht UMC+, Director of the Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) Program, Full Professor of Cardiac Surgery and ECLS at the Maastricht University and CARIM. His research group is focussed on mechanical circulatory support, minimally invasive valve surgery, coronary surgery, cardiac valve disease, extracorporeal circulation, acute myocardial infarction complications, cardiac valve disease, preclinical and clinical research.

Prof. Roberto Lorusso won the Gasperis-Donatelli Prize in 1989, a Young Investigator Award in 1995 and the Lillehei Award in 1998 by the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.  He was Scientific Secretary of the Italian Society for Cardiac Surgery in 2007 and 2008, President of Euro-ELSO (2015-2017), and he is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Multi-Media Manual of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery as well as member of the ELSO Executive Committee.

He has almost 300 publications in PubMed, and has given more than 300 presentations at international meetings as invited speaker. He is Principal Investigator of international multicentre clinical studies and grant receiver from several funding bodies for clinical as well as pre-clinical investigations.

Department of Cardiothoracic surgery
P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht 
PO Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht
Room number: D.2037
T: +31(0)43 387 60 32

  • 2026
    • Bianchi, G., Perazzo, A., Mariani, S., van Bussel, B. C. T., Di Mauro, M., Wiedemann, D., Saeed, D., Pozzi, M., Botta, L., Boeken, U., Samalavicius, R., Bounader, K., Hou, X., Bunge, J. J. H., Buscher, H., Salazar, L., Meyns, B., Mazzeffi, M. A., Matteucci, S., ... PELS-1 Investigators (2026). Extracorporeal Life Support for Post-Cardiotomy Acute Right Ventricular Failure: A Retrospective Observational Multicenter Study. Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 122(2), 462-472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2026.02.033
    • Campailla, A., Lorusso, R., Agostinelli, A., Benassi, F., Oliva, R., Grassa, G., Nicolini, F., & Carino, D. (2026). Early mortality after mitral surgery for failed MitraClip/TEER: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Cardiothoracic Surgeon, 34(1), Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43057-026-00212-5
    • Cumaran, M., Cancio, L., Schoen, J., Nosanov, L., Ainsworth, C., Fan, E., Lonergan, T., Lorusso, R., & Sousse, L. E. (2026). Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Burn Injury: A Multidisciplinary Roundtable. Journal of burn care & research, 47(4), 1263-1265. https://doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/irag062
    • ter Bekke, R., Kaya, Y., Pison, L., Evertz, R., Vernooy, K., Luermans, J., Vroomen, M., Jeurissen, J., Chaldoupi, M., Bidar, E., Lorusso, R., Sauren, B., Lameir, M., & Maesen, B. (2026). Patient-tailored minimally invasive hybrid ablation of complex ventricular tachycardia substrates. JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, 12(7), 1544-1555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacep.2026.02.031
    • Heuts, S., de Keijzer, A. R., Adriaans, B. P., Notenboom, M. L., Mihl, C., Wildberger, J. E., Vos, R. J., Post, M. C., Rylski, B., Czerny, M., Reesink, K. D., Takkenberg, J. J. M., Veen, K. M., Arabkhani, B., Schalla, S. S., Schurgers, L. J., Lorusso, R., Hjortnaes, J., & Bidar, E. (2026). Rethinking Aortic Risk: The Potential Impact of Novel, Adjusted, and Combined Aortic Measures in the Prediction of Aortic Dissection. The Canadian journal of cardiology, 42(7), 1686-1696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2026.01.023
    • Arens, J., Belliato, M., Broman, L. M., Clauser, J. C., Donker, D. W., Lorusso, R., Malfertheiner, M., Rajsic, S., Swol, J., Vercaemst, L., & Prahl Wittberg, L. (2026). Standardization of in-vitro evaluation of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) devices for research and development. Perfusion, 41(5), 758-774. https://doi.org/10.1177/02676591261434526
    • Salazar, L., Nersesian, G., Meani, P., Bari, G., Mariani, S., Potapov, E., Di Mauro, M., Gelsomino, S., Milojevic, M., Schmack, B., Stein, L., Zimpfer, D., Wiedemann, D., Soltetz, E., Bermudez, C., Haft, J., Moreno, P., Tonna, J., Takayama, H., ... Lorusso, R. (2026). Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support and Shock Teams in High-Risk Cardiac Surgery: The Strategic Evolution of Protected Cardiac Surgery. Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 122(1), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2025.12.032
    • Lotfalla, A., Heuts, S., Schreurs, R., Maessen, J. G., Schurgers, L., Korver, E., Verheule, S., Lorusso, R., Jacobs, M., & Bidar, E. (2026). A Comprehensive Total Body Perfusion Strategy vs Conventional Techniques in Elective Aortic Arch Surgery: A Comparative Analysis. Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, 41(6), Article ivag145. https://doi.org/10.1093/icvts/ivag145
    • De Filippo, O., Leick, J., Tarantini, G., Heng, E. L., Tavazzi, G., Lorusso, R., Haneya, A., & Werner, N. (2026). Contemporary evidence in protected percutaneous coronary intervention: a case-based review. European Heart Journal Supplements, 28, vii48-vii57. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartjsupp/suag006
    • Montes, L., Perazzo, A., Salazar, L., & Lorusso, R. (2026). Full Micro-Axial Flow Pump, With or Without V-A ECLS, Towards Durable Cardio-Circulatory Support: A Safer Bridge Over Troubled Waters?European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 68(6), Article ezag173. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejcts/ezag173