Johannes Bonatti, MD

Dr. Bonatti brings internationally recognized expertise in robotic-assisted cardiac surgery to his leadership role in ushering in a new era of robotic-assisted cardiac surgery at UPMC.  He was recruited to UPMC after his most recent appointment at the Vienna Health Network in Vienna, Austria.  Prior to his work there, Dr. Bonatti was the Chief of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a post he held from 2012 to 2015 before serving as the Chair of the Heart & Vascular Institute at that institution.  He has held additional roles as a Professor of Surgery at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University and attending staff surgeon at the main campus of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.  Earlier in his career, Dr. Bonatti was a Professor of Surgery and the Director of Coronary Surgery and Advanced Coronary Interventions at the University of Maryland. He has spent time as a visiting surgeon at institutions across the United States, Europe and Australia teaching robotic-assisted surgery techniques to other surgeons and surgical trainees.  Dr. Bonatti has published over 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has given over 350 lectures nationally and internationally in his areas of expertise, including robotic-assisted totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass and mitral valve repair. He has held various leadership roles in preeminent surgical societies worldwide, including President of the Minimally Invasive Robotic Association and President of the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery. He performed the world’s first successful robotic totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting procedure.  Most recently, Dr. Bonatti carried out the first simultaneous hybrid robotic-CABG/PCI broadcast live from UPMC alongside our interventional cardiologists at TCT 2023.