World-Renowned Interventional Cardiology Pioneer Joins UTHealth Houston
Mauro Carlino, MD, a world-renowned leader in interventional cardiology, joins the faculty of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston as a visiting associate professor of medicine. (Photo by UTHealth Houston)
Mauro Carlino, MD, a world-renowned leader in interventional cardiology, joins the faculty of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston as a visiting associate professor of medicine.
An international authority on complex coronary lesions, Carlino serves as assistant director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Vascular Interventions at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan. Since 1986, he has performed more than 20,000 percutaneous coronary interventions, including more than 2,000 chronic total occlusion (CTO) procedures.
Carlino is widely recognized for pioneering “contrast modulation” techniques for CTO treatment. His work evolved from contrast-guided strategies and the microchannel technique into the eponymous Carlino technique. This method utilizes controlled micro-injections of contrast via microcatheter to modify plaque compliance and clarify vessel architecture when traditional guidewire advancement fails. Now part of the global “hybrid algorithm,” the technique is used by interventional cardiologists worldwide to optimize CTO success rates.
The visit also highlights the development of hydrodynamic contrast recanalization (HDR), which Carlino describes as the “final frontier” of contrast modulation. In a seminal paper published in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions — co-authored by McGovern Medical School’s Salman Arain, MD, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, and Angelo Nascimbene, MD, assistant professor in the Center for Advanced Cardiopulmonary Therapies and Transplantation — Carlino details HDR as a potential primary antegrade strategy for selected CTOs. Early case series report very high technical success rates with no major complications, leading experts to label the technique a game changer.
“Dr. Carlino’s novel techniques have fundamentally reshaped the international cardiology landscape,” said Arain, who also directs the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Catheterization Laboratory. “We are honored to have Dr. Carlino on staff; his presence will further refine our approach to the most challenging cases, benefiting our institution and, most importantly, our patients.”
“Dr. Carlino has been a trailblazer, blending extensive clinical experience with a relentless quest for innovation,” Nascimbene added.
In addition to direct participation in complex cases, Carlino will collaborate with Arain and Nascimbene and the UTHealth Houston Office of Technology Management to refine a new, proprietary CTO catheter system. The technology was recently granted a U.S. patent and is currently under development.
Carlino earned his medical degree summa cum laude from the University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano). He has authored more than 240 peer-reviewed publications, establishing a legacy of innovation that continues to advance the field of interventional cardiology.
