Matteo Montorfano, Master Operator, Dies at 60

Matteo Montorfano, MD (San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy), known for his technical skills as an interventional cardiologist, passed away last week at age 60.

Alaide Chieffo, MD (San Raffaele Hospital), president of the European Association for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions, first encountered Montorfano 25 years ago when she was a resident in cardiology and has worked with him since then. Speaking with TCTMD, she described him as a talented and skilled operator.

“I was immediately impressed by his extraordinary ability as an interventional cardiologist and by the total dedication to his work that he maintained until the last days,” said Chieffo, highlighting the training he brought to many fellows over the decades. 

“He was a phenomenal mentor, physician, and role model,” said Gennaro Giustino, MD (Atlantic Health, Morristown, NJ), who met Montorfano in his early 20s as a medical student and then went on to train with him. “One of the first few times I met him, he asked me: ‘What do you know about interventional cardiology?’ I said, ‘I don’t know anything—I’m just starting.’” Montorfano started from the ground up with approachable explanations of stenting, TAVI, and more, Giustino said. Importantly, too, as a clinician he always put patients first.

Juan Granada, MD (Cardiovascular Research Foundation, New York, NY), who collaborated with Montorfano on numerous projects, said his “vision and generosity of spirit will be deeply missed and long remembered.”

“Matteo, a true master operator, dedicated his career to advancing structural heart disease therapies, leaving an indelible mark on all who worked alongside him. As an innovator, his contributions to the development of novel structural heart technologies were transformative,” Granada told TCTMD. “It was a profound personal honor to have shared time to build groundbreaking technologies alongside someone of his extraordinary caliber.”

Notably, Montorfano’s endeavors spanned across interventional cardiology, from complex PCI to structural heart and peripheral vascular interventions. He planned and performed the first-in-human mitral valve intervention, for instance, and developed the LIRA method for the transcatheter treatment of bicuspid aortic stenosis.

Louise Buchanan, MD (North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Carlisle, England), vice president for professional and society values of the British Cardiovascular Society, worked closely with Montorfano while completing her fellowship at San Raffaele Hospital.

“His input was pivotal to my career—he demonstrated with clarity the skills needed as an interventional cardiologist and as a leader, and what is possible for our patients. He gave me the confidence to progress in my own career, for which I remain very grateful,” Buchanan said. “I am certain that the many fellows that Matteo trained learned from his mastery, which will undoubtedly have benefitted countless patients across the world. He will be a huge miss to the interventional cardiology community.”

Career and Legacy

Montorfano studied medicine at the University of Milan, graduating summa cum laude in 1991. He completed his residency in cardiovascular medicine at University “La Sapienza” (Rome, Italy), in 1998.

His career centered around San Raffael Hospital, where he started out as a fellow then took on roles as a consultant in cardiology and interventional cardiology. In 2000, he was appointed Director of San Raffael Hospital’s cardiac catheterization laboratory within the institution’s invasive cardiology unit, led at the time by Antonio Colombo, MD. Most recently, as of 2018, he worked as Clinical Director of the interventional cardiology unit.

A respected educator, Montorfano had been an Associate Professor of cardiology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University since 2023. There, he also led the master’s program in interventional cardiology.

Montorfano served as a principal investigator for clinical trials including TRILUMINATE, ABILITY, DISRUPT CAD, PREVAIL, and ONYX ONE, among many others. He co-authored more than 450 publications in journals including Circulation, JACC, and JAMA. Additionally, he holds numerous patents for devices to treat valvular heart disease and co-founded several start-ups in the structural heart space.