San Raffaele Hospital

Founded in 1971, today the hospital unites more than 50 medical units, where the hospital can accommodate up to a thousand people. Every year 1.3 million patients, including foreign citizens, visit the hospital to get help.

San Raffaele is equipped with modern equipment: PET, PET-CT, Gamma Knife, Cyberknife, Rapid Arc, Tomotherapy. Patients with severe illnesses and disabilities choose San Raffaele to get consulted by highly specialized doctors within several hospital buildings.

The hospital is accredited by the Italian Ministry of Health to provide quality care to both Italian and foreign patients.

San Raffaele has over 50 profiled branches; most of them are the best in the country. The most popular among foreign patients are:

• Oncology,
• Neurology and neurosurgery,
• Cardiac surgery and cardiology,
• Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Surgery,
• Liver and pancreas surgery,
• Gynecology and obstetrics,
• Immunology and rheumatology,
• Pediatrics,
• Dermatology,
• Transplantology.

22 thousand patients visit the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology in the San Raffaele hospital annually. It is one of the largest centers for the treatment of rare diseases with immune-mediated pathogenesis in Italy.

The following divisions operate on the basis of the department:

• Arthritis Clinic,
• Clinic for Connective Tissue Diseases and Lupus Treatment,
• Clinic for scleroderma and cardiac immunopathology,
• Clinic for the treatment of vasculitis,
• Clinic for Autoimmune Pathology and Rare Diseases,
• Department of Allergology,
• Fibromyalgia Clinic,
• Clinic of primary immunodeficiency in adults.

San Raffaele Hospital developed a unique drug Strimvelis for patients with severe immunodeficiency caused by adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA-SCID). 75% of people who received treatment do not need further enzyme replacement therapy, which costs them 4.5 mln euros over 10 years. This is especially relevant for patients who have not found a suitable donor for hematopoietic cell transplantation.

One of the directions of the division is the management of pregnant women with rheumatic or immunopathological diseases. Such patients require special attention and care, as there may be problems with fertilization, the physiological course of pregnancy, as well as exacerbate chronic autoimmune processes.

The division of allergy works closely with other units to provide therapy for patients with drug allergies and allergic reactions to anticancer drugs.

The hospital is part of the European League against Rheumatism (EULAR), the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR), and the European Scleroderma Trials and Research group (EUSTAR).

Doctors take about 2,400 births annually. This testifies to the great experience of specialists in the field. Cesarean section accounts for 33% and natural births with epidural anesthesia are 30%. The San Raffaele Hospital is perfect for women who want to reduce the painfulness of delivery or have a medical indication for Caesarean section.

For some women, the period of pregnancy is burdened with concomitant diseases. Doctors focus on the treatment of women with pregnancy pathologies, which include:

• Diabetes mellitus type 1 and type 2,
• Autoimmune diseases,
• Hypertonic disease,
• Oncological diseases during pregnancy,
• Fetal malformations.

Doctors in San Raffaele perform antenatal screening to early detect pregnancy complications and fetal malformations. Non-invasive (maternal serum screening — DNA-NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing)) and invasive ones such as amniocentesis are available for hospital`s patients.

San Raffaele Hospital is one of 29 health facilities that have received the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Baby Friendly Hospital certificate.

San Raffaele guarantees the quality of prenatal preparation, the arrangement of delivery rooms, and the qualifications of specialists in accordance with the requirements of WHO and UNICEF. Baby friendly hospitals are prepared and equipped to ensure early physical contact between mother and baby and breastfeeding soon after birth.

Such simple actions contribute to the formation and strengthening of immunity in a baby and decrease pain syndrome after delivery in mother.

San Raffaele Hospital is recognized as one of the best medical institutions for cancer patients and is among the top leading hospitals in the world for the treatment of all types of cancer. Every year, doctors treat more than 9 thousand cancer patients. Patients are treated with the following diseases:

• Breast tumors,
• Lungs’ cancer,
• Oncology of the gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, large intestine),
• Tumors of the hepatobiliary system and pancreas,
• Oncology of the genitourinary system (kidneys, bladder, testicles),
• Oncogynecology,
• Malignant tumors of the head and neck,
• Tumors of the neuroendocrine system,
• Skin cancer.

The Department of Oncology brings together a team of highly specialized experts who treat all types of oncological pathology. The doctors of the San Raffaele Hospital are involved in the development and clinical research of new chemotherapy drugs, drugs for immunotherapy, and biological therapy. The Department of Medical Oncology and Research on New Treatment Methods has been operating since 2011.

Patient therapy is approached individually: a team of professionals is always involved in the treatment, including medical oncologists, radiotherapists, chemotherapists, cardiologists, and surgeons. The Department of Oncology works closely with other divisions, which can prevent the occurrence of undesirable side effects and complications during the treatment of underlying cancer. For example, the division of allergy treats drug allergies to chemotherapy and radiopharmaceuticals.

The Pancreatic Oncology Department is a national center of excellence. Treatments are performed here in accordance with advanced developments.

Patients with severe forms of cancer, as well as oncology complicated by other diseases and conditions (diabetes mellitus, pregnancy, autoimmune diseases, etc.), are admitted to San Raffaele. Such patients get special attention, care, and therapy is adjusted in accordance with the characteristics of the patient.

Vita-Salute San Raffaele University operates on the territory of the clinic. More than 1,500 researchers conduct fundamental research and clinical trials on modern equipment, which occupies a total of 130 thousand square meters (comparable to the size of 2 thousand football fields). This helps doctors to use the new methods of treatment in practice. In 2018 the doctors of the clinic published 1400 scientific articles. This means that patients with rare and severe diseases can be cured here.

The clinic is located at Via Olgettina Milano, 60, 20132 Milano MI, Italy. Linate Airport is just 10 km far from the hospital by car. You can get from the airport to the clinic in 50 minutes by bus #923. In this case, the fare will be only 2 euros. If necessary, MedTour’s medical coordinator will assist you with taxi or arranging an airport transfer. MedTour staff provides help with booking air tickets and apartments near the clinic and assists in the translation of medical documentation.