Gianfranco Butera

From Lamezia Terme to Rome, then Paris, Milan and now London, Dr. Gianfranco Butera is a pediatric cardiologist and expert in interventional catheterization in congenital heart disease. He was among the first to develop a fetal interventional cardiology program in a structured way, intervening on heart diseases that would compromise the life of the unborn child.

After graduating from the "Galileo Galilei" Scientific High School in Lamezia Terme, Gianfranco Butera enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Catholic University of Rome where he graduated in 1993 until he completed his specialist studies in Pediatrics

What are your memories of your years at Università Cattolica?

I came from a small town in southern Italy, but I brought with me the strength of the family and human values characteristic of our country and of the Catholic tradition. The experience at the University, however, represented the possibility of making those values blossom and bring them to further fulfilment.

Life in the university colleges was an experience of independence, coexistence, sometimes not easy but often fruitful of precious encounters, the opportunity for common life in mutual respect, the birth of lasting friendships. In addition, cultural and regional diversity was experienced, often culminating in epic dinners in which everyone shared the specialties of the house with the others.

Also very important was the wise guidance of spiritual assistants such as Fr. Roberto De Odorico, Fr. Lorenzo Leuzzi, Fr. Gianni Zappa.

Finally, the discovery of love and the creation of a family life project with my wife, whom I met at the University.

Finally, I remember the long days of study, the responsibility towards the sacrifices of my parents, the joy and light-heartedness of the periods that followed the demanding days of the exams.

Was your choice of Università Cattolica significant in your educational and professional path?

I would say yes because I had the opportunity to grow my medical culture in an organized, focused and orderly environment. The scientific level of the professors has always been very high and several have represented a clear example of commitment and professionalism. Finally, the presence of a Catholic atmosphere that is never oppressive has further developed my attention to the person in his or her family and social entirety and not only as a "pathology" or as an "organ".

In this regard, the experience with the Tobia group, which represented a group of volunteers committed to meeting the sick to develop initiatives to pass the long time of hospital stays, was very formative.

During that same period there was also the year of Civil Service at the Diocesan Caritas in which I worked as a doctor in the clinic in Via Marsala near Termini station and then as a doctor on an equipped camper in the nomadic camps of the Roman suburbs. Incredible experience of getting to know people, cultures, traditions and values.

In 1996 he decided to move to Paris for a few years at the Necker Enfants Malades Hospital where he specialized in pediatric cardiology and congenital heart disease. These were the years in which he collaborated with Professors Kachaner and Sidi and with Professor Bonhoeffer, the great pioneer of transcatheter valves. "I collaborated with them on many scientific projects," Dr. Butera points out, "and thus perfected my training by acquiring the University Diploma in Pediatric Cardiology from the Paris V University."

In 2000 he returned to Milan and began his professional career at the San Donato Milanese IRCCS Polyclinic where he worked until a few months ago. In the same period, he completed his training with a specialization in cardiology and in the field of research with the achievement of the Diploma of the Global Clinical Scholars Research Program at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Author of more than two hundred specialist articles and various specialist texts, he is particularly proud to have coordinated the shared effort of more than 40 international authors for the text entitled "Cardiac Catheterization for congenital heart disease: from fetal life to adulthood" (Springer-Nature, 2015).

"It's been downloaded more than 70,000 times! "And above all, it represents a reference text for Formation, so much so that it was also translated into Chinese in 2016."

He has been Chairman of the Working Group of interventional Cardiology of the European Association of Pediatric Cardiology as well as Visiting Professor in various international universities including Beijing, Bordeaux and Boston. Finally, he has been an associate member of the Harvard Medical Alumni Association (HMAA) since 2015.

A few months ago you moved to London, what do you currently do?

I was approached to take over the management of the haemodynamics department of congenital heart disease in children and adults at St Thomas' Hospital and Evelina Children's Hospital in London. These facilities represent an international reference point in the field of transcatheter treatment of congenital heart disease. This is where fetal procedures, pediatric valve angioplasty procedures, and many other procedures still used around the world were born. It is therefore a great honour for me to have been entrusted with the task of managing this structure and to bring the wealth of passion, enthusiasm, experience and ideas that I have gained over time.

What's new in the clinical field for congenital heart disease?

First of all, the novelties concern the development of new materials for the treatment of valvular pathologies in the context of congenital heart disease.

Another aspect of innovation concerns the integration of various image acquisition modalities (ultrasound, CT, MRI, angiography) to guide interventional procedures: augmented reality and holography are close to being used in clinical settings. Here in London I am collaborating with a big project that aims to integrate all imaging modalities into a single platform that guides us in our interventions.

A third area concerns the interaction with biomedical engineers who make it possible to simulate procedures before they are carried out and to model pathologies in order to improve the understanding of pathological mechanisms. With the support of the international publisher Springer-Nature I am developing an editorial project together with many engineers and doctors from all over the world on this fascinating topic.

By exploiting existing materials but with an innovative approach, it is possible to treat pathologies that are still considered only of surgical relevance. For example, the case of the venous sinus interatrial defect of a patient not amenable to surgery and very compromised, which I treated just before moving to London, was the first of its kind in Europe.

Finally, during these first months in London I am making contacts to take advantage of advances in nanotechnology and biomaterials to develop new stents and new valves that are more innovative and effective.

In addition to his professional commitment, for over 15 years the Lametine doctor has been carrying out a humanitarian project for the development of pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery in Cameroon with the Shisong Cardiac Centre.

In sub-Saharan Africa there was no such center and in Africa heart disease is the second leading cause of death among children. For this reason, we have trained several doctors and volunteers, creating a heart center run by the Franciscan Sisters of Bressanone. This center was developed with the invaluable collaboration of the Association of Children with Heart Disease in the World, founded by Professor Frigiola and Professor Cirri, and the Cuore Fratello Association, founded by Don Claudio Maggioni and the Capuchin Missionaries of Lombardy (Father Angelo Pagano).

I remember with particular emotion the first trip to Shisong-Cameroon for the inauguration of the cardiology clinic in 2002. We were still a long way from Shisong, but in the villages we passed through we encountered an incredible party. They had heard of our arrival from Italy to visit children with heart disease. For all the villages, through which we pass, they welcome us with great honors: the road and the journey had been very hard but the unexpected welcome repaid us for everything. Along the way, the children were dressed to the nines, adorned with beautiful pink bows. I look carefully: it's toilet paper! Poor materials but with the imagination and warmth of the welcome they are priceless!

We finally arrive in Shisong, a bit shabby and dusty, but the square in front of the hospital is full of mothers and children waiting for the heart check. For some, it will be the first cardiology visit of their lives. As soon as we arrive, we begin to visit the children who have been waiting at the entrance of the clinic for a few days with their mothers. The inauguration took place a few days later and there was again an explosion of colors, joy and enthusiasm, songs and dances. We, too, are dragged! During the Mass, the Gospel is that of the talents: what more appropriate message! You have to get busy!

The project continued in the following years up to the training of doctors and local staff, the opening of a modern cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology center. Local doctors at this center perform about 120-150 cardiac and interventional procedures per year.

Raised in the scouts under the guidance of Fr Saverio Gatti, in his daily work he always keeps alive one of Baden Powell's teachings: "Look far away, and when you think you are looking far away, look even farther".