Umberto Benedetto is Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara and Director of the Department of Heart Diseases and Cardiac Surgery Unit at ASL2 Abruzzo, Italy. Following more than a decade of academic and clinical practice in the United Kingdom, including senior appointments at the University of Oxford and the University of Bristol, he returned to Italy in 2021 to establish advanced minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery programs.

His clinical activity is focused on totally endoscopic mitral and aortic valve surgery, with particular interest in reducing surgical trauma while maintaining the highest standards of safety and repair quality. He has also led the development of one of Italy’s most active robotic coronary surgery programs, performing robotic-assisted MIDCAB procedures and promoting hybrid coronary revascularization strategies that combine minimally invasive LIMA-to-LAD grafting with percutaneous coronary intervention.

Under his leadership, the Chieti program has become a national referral centre for minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery, attracting patients from across Italy and contributing to the dissemination of advanced endoscopic techniques through clinical research, education and international collaboration.

His academic interests include surgical outcomes research, coronary revascularization, minimally invasive cardiac surgery and innovation in robotic-assisted procedures.