Dr. Ignacio Gallo Mezo

Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department at Gipuzkoa Polyclinic
Clinical area

Dr Ignacio Gallo Mezo is an international leader in the study and design of new material and techniques for inserting artificial valves in the heart, with two international patents to his name. He was the first cardiovascular surgeon to perform a cardiomyoplasty in Spain. He uses state-of-the-art technology in his operating theatre, such as bioactive substances in extracorporeal circulation, and a laser for transmyocardial revascularisation as a complementary therapy recommended in certain cases.

Ignacio-Gallo

Centros de los Médicos Dr. Ignacio Gallo Mezo

Internacional 2019: Centros a los que pertenezca un médico.

Professional experience
  • Attending physician in the Cardiovascular Surgery Department at Marqués de Valdecilla National Hospital. Santander. 1978-1987.
  • Founder and head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department in the Haemodynamics and Cardiovascular Surgery Unit at Gipuzkoa Polyclinic in San Sebastián (October 1987-May 2003).
  • Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department in the Haemodynamics and Cardiovascular Surgery Unit at San José Polyclinic in Vitoria (May 2003-December 2013).
  • Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department in the Haemodynamics and Cardiovascular Surgery Unit at Reyes Católicos Hospital in Burgos (February 2004-November 2006).
  • Director of the Haemodynamics and Cardiovascular Surgery Unit at Viamed Los Manzanos Hospital (La Rioja) (December 2007-December 2021).
  • Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department at Viamed Montecanal Hospital (Zaragoza) (January 2009)
  • Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department at Gipuzkoa Polyclinic (San Sebastián) (November 2008).
Membership in scientific societies
  • Spanish Society of Cardiology.
  • Spanish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery.
  • International Cardiovascular Society.
  • Spanish Society for Surgical Research.
  • Spanish Association of Surgeons.
  • European Society for Artificial Organs.
  • Basque-Navarre Society of Cardiology.
  • International Society for Heart Transplantation.
  • The European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. International Association for Cardiac Biological Implants.
Research and teaching

The cardiovascular surgeon Ignacio Gallo is a globally renowned name thanks to his contributions in this field of medicine, having been asked to write more than 20 chapters for books on his speciality, and more than 150 original research pieces, published in prestigious international journals in his speciality.

He has several patents for cardiac models and prostheses to his name:

  • TITLE: "Prótesis valvular cardíaca bicúspide" (Bicuspate cardiac valve prosthesis). Authors: I. Gallo, M.F. Carrión, B. Ruiz, C.M.G. Durán. Date: 19 December 1984. Utility model 283,533 (Spain).
  • TITLE: "Bicuspate cardiac valve prosthesis". Authors: I. Gallo, M.F. Carrión, B. Ruiz, C.M.G. Durán. Date: 17 December 1985. Patent 810,066 (USA).
  • TITLE: "Método para la paliación de la calcificación de materiales biológicos utilizados como materiales protésicos" (Method for alleviating the calcification of biological materials used as prosthetic materials). Authors: I. Gallo, F. Nistal. Date: 10 February 1987.

He has published more than a hundred research papers and studies in the world's leading cardiology journals. In 2002, he presented the results of a study carried out with Basque and Navarre doctors that led to the discovery of a blood marker that, via a blood analysis, determines cardiac fibrosis and its reversal.

Stay in foreign centers

Research Fellow in Cardiothoracic Surgery. Date: 1 January 1982. University: Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Yeshiva University, New York (USA).

Languages for clinical practice

Spanish, English and French.