Dr Stefano Demertzis, the new Head of Heart Surgery, will take over from Dr Francesco Siclari on 1 February 2015.

After 15 years of dedicated, successful and greatly appreciated work as the Head of Heart Surgery at Cardiocentro Ticino, Dr Francesco Siclari has decided to hand over to Dr Stefanos Demertzis.

After working at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, University Hospital Zurich and Hannover Medical School, Dr Siclari held the role of Head of Heart Surgery at the Städtische Kliniken hospital in Oldenburg from 1991 to 1999. In 1999 he was invited to organise and manage the Department of Heart Surgery at Cardiocentro Ticino, and carried out the first heart surgery operation at the centre, inaugurating the Cariocentro operating theatre.

On the 1 February, Dr Siclari will leave Cardiocentro to move on to new professional challenges. He will be replaced by Dr Demertzis, who already holds the position of Vice Head of Heart Surgery.

Dr Demertzis, who has worked alongside Dr Siclari since the beginning at Cardiocentro, graduated in Medicine from Kiel (Germany) in 1987, completing his training in general, thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at Hannover Medical School. In 2000, he gained the title of PD (Privatdozent) at Saarland University (Germany), winning the Köhler prize from the German Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery for his work. Welcomed to Cardiocentro Ticino in 1999, Dr Demertzis has combined his clinical role in Ticino with a busy academic schedule at the University of Bern, where he has worked alongside Dr Thierry Carrel, who appointed him as Honorary Professor in 2011.

In his clinical practice, Dr Demertzis has specialised in minimally invasive coronary surgery, surgical reconstruction of the aorta and cardiac valves, and the development of modern interdisciplinary approaches for the treatment of acute and chronic heart failure.

Highly valued by all of the staff at Cardiocentro Ticino, Dr Demertzis was the natural successor to Dr Siclari in such an important role for Cardiocentro and for the healthcare system in Ticino.

The Foundation Board and the Cardiocentro Ticino management offer their greatest thanks to Dr Siclari for his invaluable contribution over the years, both to Cardiocentro and to his patients. We wish Dr Demertzis all the best in his important and challenging new role.