Dr. Francesco Pirone is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at the Waikato Cardiothoracic Unit. He completed his cardiothoracic residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Italy. He subsequently moved to the United Kingdom to complete a fellowship in adult cardiothoracic surgery in Brighton and a fellowship in aortic surgery, minimally invasive aortic surgery, and transcatheter aortic valve implantation at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

He was appointed as a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at St Thomas’ London at the age of 33 becoming one of the youngest consultant cardiothoracic surgeons in the United Kingdom. He has performed over one thousand open heart operations in the UK with a survival rate above the national average. Francesco has pioneered innovative intervention in cardiovascular surgery. He has been invited as a faculty member to many international meetings.

Dr. Pirone moved to New Zealand in 2019 where he provides safe and compassionate care to patients with heart conditions. He practices as a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Waikato DHB and with the Heart Surgeon Group for private patients in collaboration with his colleagues and friends David McCormack and Nishith Patel.

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