The Cardiac Surgery Service is part of the Clinical Directorate of the Heart Area.

The Cardiac Surgery Service at Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol is a centre of reference within the public health network of Catalonia for the diagnosis, treatment and surgical follow-up of heart diseases. The professional team comprises cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, anaesthetists, perfusionists and highly qualified nursing staff who work in a coordinated manner to ensure safe, efficient care of the highest quality.

The service performs a wide range of interventions, from conventional cardiac surgery to minimally invasive techniques and hybrid procedures. Its main areas of expertise include the treatment of valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysms, adult congenital heart disease and advanced heart failure, which may require ventricular assist devices or be referred to other centres in the network for heart transplantation. Urgent surgeries and reoperations are also performed.

The Cardiac Surgery Service primarily cares for adult patients from the Metropolitan North Health Region, as well as referrals from other hospitals in the area. Its clinical activity is accompanied by a prominent teaching and research programme, in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute for Research (IGTP). The service actively participates in national and international multicentre studies, contributing to the development of new surgical techniques and the continuous improvement of clinical outcomes.

The mission of the Cardiac Surgery Service is to provide comprehensive, highly specialised care, based on scientific excellence, technological innovation and a commitment to the humanisation of care. With this commitment to public service, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol consolidates its role as a centre of excellence in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and in the generation of knowledge in the service of health.

Featured service news: 

• The iCor Cardiac Surgery Service incorporates the transaxillary approach in minimally invasive cardiac surgery

The Cardiac Surgery Service at Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol is recognised as a pioneering centre in Catalonia and across the State for the development and application of advanced techniques in the treatment of cardiac valvular pathology.

Our team has been at the forefront of implanting sutureless aortic prostheses, which allow for less invasive procedures and faster recovery, while maintaining excellence in clinical and surgical outcomes.

For over 6 years, the department has routinely performed mitral valve repair via a minimally invasive endoscopic approach, a technique that has demonstrated excellent results in terms of patient safety, comfort and recovery. Recently, this same approach has also been incorporated for the treatment of aortic valve pathology, thus expanding the options for endoscopic surgery at our centre.

Our team also stands out for its expertise in hybrid procedures with the Haemodynamics Unit, offering the full spectrum of transcatheter therapies for valvular disease. We are one of the few centres in southern Europe that integrates, within a single multidisciplinary team, innovative techniques such as transcatheter mitral prostheses (Tendyne, Epygon) and devices for transcatheter mitral and tricuspid repair (Neochord, Cardioband).

Furthermore, the Service has one of the most extensive series of Ross procedures (the replacement of the diseased aortic valve with the patient's own pulmonary valve – a pulmonary autograft – and subsequently placing a pulmonary homograft in the original pulmonary position) in the entire country.

The Cardiac Surgery Service maintains a close collaboration with the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute for Research (IGTP) on translational research projects and advanced training programmes in the field of cardiovascular diseases.

The Service actively participates in national and international studies aimed at improving outcomes and innovating surgical techniques, with its main research lines focusing on ischaemic heart disease and valvular disease.

Within the framework of the IGTP, a significant part of the research is conducted using animal models in the animal facility of the Can Ruti Campus, which allows the study of new devices, surgical techniques and therapeutic strategies before their application in clinical practice. This activity strictly adheres to current ethical and animal welfare regulations, and constitutes a key pillar for innovation and knowledge transfer to the Cardiac Surgery Service.

Undergraduate teaching

The Cardiac Surgery Service actively participates in the training of medical students from the Faculty of Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) at the Can Ruti Campus. It also hosts students from foreign faculties with teaching agreements with the UAB, and collaborates in the practical training of nursing students at the same university. Students have the opportunity to acquire theoretical knowledge and practical skills in cardiac surgery and in the comprehensive operation of a high-complexity service.

Postgraduate teaching

The service hosts resident doctors in Cardiac Surgery who undertake their specialist training within the MIR programme (one accredited place per year). In addition, it collaborates cross-sectionally in the training of residents from other specialities, such as Angiology and Vascular Surgery, Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine and Cardiology. This teaching activity is integrated into the clinical workflow, with a focus on clinical practice, research and technological innovation.

Information for residents 

• 1 accredited place per year
• See the Teaching Guide
• Find out what our residents think about the Cardiac Surgery service of the Germans Trias

Continuous training

Members of the Service participate as lecturers in various courses related to the speciality, aimed at students of Nursing and Medicine, as well as professionals from the same hospital or the ICS healthcare network, such as:

• ECMO therapy course (BadaECMO)
• Courses in surgical techniques and simulation in cardiac surgery

Furthermore, the Service promotes staff participation in national and international courses and congresses in fields related to the speciality, as organisers or participants:

• Annual Meeting of Resident Doctors
• Congress of the Catalan-Balearic Society of Cardiac Surgery (SCBCC)
• Congress of the Spanish Society of Cardiac and Endovascular Surgery (SECCE)
• Annual Congress of the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (EACTS)

The Service's periodic training and refresher activities include:

• Weekly medical-surgical session (Heart Team)
• Periodic sessions with the ICS-Metropolitan North network centres
• Structural Heart Disease and TAVI Committee
• Endocarditis Committee
• Aorta Committee
• Literature review and research sessions
• Clinical case sessions
• Morbidity and mortality sessions
• Protocol review sessions

These activities reinforce the service's commitment to continuous improvement, quality of care and the training of future healthcare professionals.