Dr. Massimo Sartelli

General Surgery

General and Emergency Surgeon - Acting Director Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery

Italy

Biography

He is consultant surgeon at Department of General and Emergency Surgery, Macerata Hospital, Area Vasta 3, ZT n°9 (Italy) - Coordinator of Scientific Activities - Member of the Hospital Infection Control Committee. He has performed more than 3,500 operations of general and emergency surgery. His scientific activity is documented by publications in international scientific journals (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=sartelli). He is author/co-author of nine manuals of emergency surgery. In the last years he has devoted his updating to the study of surgical infections and sepsis. He coordinated WSES Guidelines for Management of Intra-abdominal Infections, WSES Guidelines for Management of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections and WSES Guidelines for Management of Clostridium difficile Infection in Surgical Patients. He designed and coordinated four multicenter prospective studies (CIAOW Study, CIAO Study, WISS Study and PIPAS study) involving medical institutions worldwide defining epidemiological and management profiles of intra-abdominal infections worldwide. In 2016 he designed AGORA Project. A global Alliance for Rational and appropriate use of antibiotics in managing intra-abdominal infections with the participation of clinicians from 79 countries worldwide. He is deputy editor of the "World Journal of Emergency Surgery" and member of the Board of Directors of the "World Society of Emergency Surgery". He is founder and acting director of the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. The Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery is an independent alliance promoted in 2016 by the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), for a cohesive and global approach to promoting research and education in the field of infections in surgery. Experts from 86 countries worldwide joined the International Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery.

Publications

Selected publications from PubMed

Global practices and attitudes in acute appendicitis management: the PAMAP-W international survey and Delphi consensus study on the WSES appendicitis grading system.

De Simone B, Catena F, Abu-Zidan F, Saeidi S, Okocha M, Kaafarani H, Podda M, Sugrue M, Chouillard E, Sartelli M, Coccolini F, Di Saverio S, De'Angelis N, Moore EE, Biffl W, Kasongo L, PAMAP-W WSES Experts’ Panel, PAMAP-W Collaborative, Gomes CA

World J Emerg Surg. 2026 Aug 18;21(1) doi: 10.1186/s13017-026-00696-w.

The extended postoperative complication score: A dual-axis reporting plan for general surgery.

Coccolini F, Cicuttin E, Chirica M, Reva V, Coimbra R, Sartelli M, Isik A, Biffl WL, Cremonini C, Colli A, Besola L, Mariani D, Kluger Y, Ceresoli M, Kurihara H, Cimino M, Moore EE, Kessel B, Horer T, Ferrada P, Kirkpatrick AW, Pikoulis M, Catena F, Bass G, Pisa, Italy

J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2026 Aug 1;101(2):324-330 doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000005014.

Correction: Manifesto of the collaborative alliance for research and educationin surgery: the CARES network. "Surgical research must become amilestone of progress in patient care in Italy".

Gerardi C, Podda M, Agresta F, Allocati E, Allocati F, Ansaloni L, Arezzo A, Azzolina D, Balla A, Banzi R, Bergamini C, Bertele V, Botteri E, Calabrese L, Campanile FC, Carrano FM, Cassinotti E, Catena F, Ceresoli M, Cillara N, Cioffi SP, De Simone B, Di Martino M, Di Saverio S, Donadon M, Fugazzola P, Giordano A, Ielpo B, Mascagni P, Montori G, Ortenzi M, Pata F, Petz WLR, Sartelli M, Sartori A, Starinieri B, Vettoretto N, Xinaris C, Remuzzi G

Updates Surg. 2026 Jun 15 doi: 10.1007/s13304-026-02648-0.

Manifesto of the collaborative alliance for research and educationin surgery: the CARES network. "Surgical research must become amilestone of progress in patient care in Italy".

Gerardi C, Podda M, Agresta F, Allocati E, Allocati F, Ansaloni L, Arezzo A, Azzolina D, Balla A, Banzi R, Bergamini C, Bertele' V, Botteri E, Calabrese L, Campanile FC, Carrano FM, Cassinotti E, Catena F, Ceresoli M, Cillara N, Cioffi SP, De Simone B, Di Martino M, Di Saverio S, Donadon M, Fugazzola P, Giordano A, Ielpo B, Mascagni P, Montori G, Ortenzi M, Pata F, Petz WLR, Sartelli M, Sartori A, Starinieri B, Vettoretto N, Xinaris C, Remuzzi G

Updates Surg. 2026 Mar 16 doi: 10.1007/s13304-026-02569-y.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Appendicitis: 2025 Edition of the World Society of Emergency Surgery Jerusalem Guidelines.

Podda M, Ceresoli M, De Simone B, Fugazzola P, Pata F, Balla A, Gerardi C, Allocati E, Salminen P, Coimbra R, Kelly M, Boermeester M, Segovia Lohse H, Tan E, Pisanu A, Abu-Zidan F, Flum D, Sakakushev B, Ansaloni L, Gomes CA, Talan D, Tebala GD, Shelat V, Bendinelli C, Balogh Z, Mentula P, Di Carlo I, Kluger Y, Tolonen M, Sammalkorpi H, Damaskos D, Biffl W, Yang B, Sallinen V, Davies J, Vallicelli C, Amico F, Augustin G, Cucinotta E, Litvin A, Kirkpatrick A, de'Angelis N, Weber D, Leppaniemi A, Lee M, Cabrera Vargas LF, Sartelli M, Coccolini F, Di Saverio S, Catena F

JAMA Surg. 2026 Mar 1;161(3):283-295 doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2025.6218.

Featured in

22 min

Key concepts in management of the open abdomen for infection source control

Intra-abdominal infection management consists of infectious source control, antimicrobial therapy and early hemodynamic support. Sometimes more than one laparotomy is needed to achieve source control. On-demand re-laparotomy is performed in severe septic patients, but there is no evidence of well-defined conditions that can lead to this therapeutic option. Dr. Sartelli speaks about planned versus on-demand re-laparotomy. Open abdomen (OA) is the simplest method to perform a planned re-laparotomy. After 10 years since the first publication on open abdomen, there is still no definitive data regarding its use in severe peritonitis. The rationale for damage control surgery in patients with abdominal septic shock is the same as for trauma patients. After source control, resuscitation is optimized in the ICU. No prospective studies have been done for damage control surgery in non-trauma patients. The cytokine cascade can be controlled by OA, preventing the abdominal compartment syndrome, but little evidence exists to support its use. OA can also allow to perform definitive surgery with primary anastomosis. Early fascial closure should be accomplished, with or without negative pressure therapy, following temporary abdominal closure. Negative pressure with continuous fascial traction might have better results regarding fascial closure, mortality and enteroatmospheric fistula. Non-mesh and mesh-mediated closure techniques can be used for definitive closure. Planned re-laparotomy is not recommended in patients with severe secondary peritonitis, according to the evidence. Damage control surgery may be an option in selected significantly physiologically deranged patients, but there is no evidence to make it a general strategy. Prolonged negative pressure may increase the risk of enteroatmospheric fistula. The results of the trial on Closed or Open after Laparotomy for source Control in Severe Complicated Intra-abdominal sepsis (COOL Trial) should answer the question of whether OA is indicated for Intra-abdominal sepsis.

Published

Sep 2018

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