Hello from Milan! We are with Dr. Ottavio Alfieri, who is a world-renowned cardiac surgeon and a pioneer in heart valve surgical treatment methods. We are going to discuss today open heart surgery and minimally invasive transcatheter methods of treatment for heart valves. This includes mitral valve repair, aortic valve replacement, tricuspid valve regurgitation. We will also talk about more general challenges, opportunities, and the future in the treatment of heart disease.

Let me first give you some highlights of the professional career of Professor Ottavio Alfieri. Dr. Ottavio Alfieri has been a Professor and Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at the San Raffaele University Hospital in Milan, Italy. He remains a consultant to the cardiac surgery department at the San Raffaele Hospital.

Dr. Ottavio Alfieri obtained his MD from the University of Parma in Italy. He did multiple fellowships in cardiac surgery and cardiovascular research, including at the University of Bergamo, Italy, the University of New York in Buffalo, and the University of Birmingham in Alabama. He also was a cardiac surgeon for many years in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Dr. Ottavio Alfieri was also a Director of the Cardiac Surgery Unit in Turin and Brescia, Italy. Professor Alfieri was a visiting Professor at multiple universities: in Rome, Brescia, and Pisa. Since 1996 Professor Ottavio Alfieri has been a Professor and Chairman of the Cardiac Surgery Department of San Raffaele University Hospital in Milan.

Over 20 years ago, Professor Ottavio Alfieri developed a method of mitral valve repair (the edge to edge technique), now known as the "Alfieri technique." It forms the basis for the most common method of percutaneous transcatheter therapy of mitral regurgitation today.

Dr. Ottavio Alfieri was the President of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. He has held leadership roles in many cardiac surgery professional societies in Europe. Dr. Ottavio Alfieri has authored and co-authored over 700 peer-reviewed publications in international medical journals. He presented numerous talks at international conferences on cardiac surgery research and treatment. Dr. Ottavio Alfieri, hello and welcome!