Ospedale Gaetano Pini

The Ospedale Gaetano Pini — historically known as the Istituto Ortopedico Gaetano Pini and today operating as the Presidio Ospedaliero Gaetano Pini — is a specialised hospital in Milan, Italy, and one of the oldest orthopaedic institutions in the country. It traces its origins to the Pio Istituto dei Rachitici, founded in 1874 by Gaetano Pini to treat the many children then affected by rickets, together with an orthopaedic outpatient clinic set up by his collaborator Pietro Panzeri. Renamed the Pio Istituto dei Rachitici in 1881, the institution grew in the early twentieth century under the direction of Riccardo Galeazzi into a modern orthopaedic hospital, adding departments and pavilions, and became the seat of the first chair of orthopaedics at the University of Milan. Today the Pini is the central site of the Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) Gaetano Pini-CTO, a public health authority created in 2016 by merging the AO Istituto Ortopedico Gaetano Pini with the Ospedale CTO of Milan under Lombardy regional law (D.lgs 23/2015). The ASST comprises three sites: the Presidio Ospedaliero Gaetano Pini in central Milan, the Presidio Ospedaliero CTO, and the Fanny Finzi-Ottolenghi rehabilitation centre in the Gorla district. Across these sites it organises its activity into a Department of Orthopaedics, Traumatology and Specialised Surgery; a Department of Rehabilitation; a Department of Rheumatology and Medical Sciences; and a Department of Support Health Services. The Pini hospital is a national reference centre for diseases of the musculoskeletal system and for rheumatological conditions. It offers advanced imaging, conventional operating theatres and robotic surgery, and receives more than 300,000 users each year. The CTO site is known for orthopaedics-traumatology, hand surgery and rehabilitation of spinal-cord patients, and also runs cardiological, respiratory and neurological rehabilitation, including a centre for Parkinson's disease and parkinsonisms. The Fanny Finzi-Ottolenghi rehabilitation centre evolved from a physiotherapy section opened in 1915 and moved into a new facility dedicated to physical medicine and rehabilitation in the early 2000s. As a public hospital, the Gaetano Pini is not a commercial company but a regional health authority brand. It combines clinical care with teaching and research: the Walter Albisetti teaching centre, inaugurated in July 2012 inside the Pini site, hosts university and specialisation courses and is managed by the University of Milan, while a Technical-Scientific Committee for Research and Training, established in 2017, coordinates research, training and scientific dissemination. The institution's long history, its university ties and its specialised focus make it a landmark of Milanese and Italian orthopaedics.

The institution that became the Ospedale Gaetano Pini began in 1874 as the Pio Istituto dei Rachitici, founded in Milan by Gaetano Pini to care for the many children suffering from rickets, together with an orthopaedic outpatient clinic created by his collaborator Pietro Panzeri. It was renamed the Pio Istituto dei Rachitici in 1881. In the early twentieth century, under the direction of Riccardo Galeazzi, the foundations of a modern orthopaedic hospital were laid: new departments were opened and new pavilions built, including the Rifugio Finzi at Gorla. The hospital became the seat of the first chair of orthopaedics at the University of Milan, consolidating its role as a teaching and specialist centre. Over the following decades the institute, known as the Istituto Ortopedico Gaetano Pini, established itself as one of Italy's leading centres for diseases of the musculoskeletal system and rheumatological conditions. Its historic site in central Milan includes buildings with deep roots: the area of the present-day Walter Albisetti teaching centre originally belonged to the Santa Maria del Paradiso convent complex, and a small portico built in 1609 and completed in the eighteenth century is still in use. The area was heavily damaged by the 1943 bombings; it had been ceded in the nineteenth century to the Pio Istituto dei Rachitici, where the Pini hospital now stands, and only part of the colonnade and sixteenth-century vaults survived. Later remodelling preserved as much of the historic heritage as possible. A major reorganisation came in 2016, when the Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Gaetano Pini-CTO was created by merging the AO Istituto Ortopedico Gaetano Pini with the Ospedale CTO of Milan, in implementation of Lombardy regional law (D.lgs 23/2015). The new ASST brought together three sites: the Presidio Ospedaliero Gaetano Pini, the Presidio Ospedaliero CTO, and the Polo Riabilitativo Fanny Finzi-Ottolenghi. The Pini site represents the evolution of the Milanese orthopaedic school and today specialises in musculoskeletal pathology, rheumatology and physical medicine, with sophisticated imaging, conventional operating theatres and robotic surgery, receiving more than 300,000 users a year. The CTO is a reference point for orthopaedics-traumatology, hand surgery and rehabilitation of spinal-cord patients, and has long carried out cardiological, respiratory and neurological rehabilitation, including a centre for Parkinson's disease and parkinsonisms. The Fanny Finzi-Ottolenghi rehabilitation centre evolved from the Rifugio on viale Monza, opened in 1915 as a physiotherapy section for rehabilitation; in the early 2000s it inaugurated a new contemporary facility dedicated to physical medicine and rehabilitation. Teaching and research have remained central. The Walter Albisetti teaching centre, located inside the Pini hospital within the Medical Directorate pavilion, was inaugurated in July 2012 and is dedicated to Dr Walter Albisetti, a respected orthopaedic surgeon and professor at the Pini who died in a domestic accident. It comprises six classrooms of different sizes and equipment, from 100 to 5 seats, and is managed by the University of Milan. The site underwent significant renovation and requalification. In 2017, with a Director-General's resolution of 6 November 2017, no. 518, the Technical-Scientific Committee for Research and Training was established under the company regulations for staff training and professional updating adopted on 8 April 2014, no. 148; it stimulates, coordinates and organises teaching and research activities and the exchange of experience and research results with specialists in the various fields of medicine and related sciences, and disseminates scientific and cultural knowledge and innovations both inside and outside the structure.

• 2017

  Technical-Scientific Committee for Research and Training established by Director-General's resolution no. 518 of 6 November 2017.

• 2016

  ASST Gaetano Pini-CTO is created by merging the AO Istituto Ortopedico Gaetano Pini with the Ospedale CTO of Milan under Lombardy regional law (D.lgs 23/2015).

• 2012

  The Polo Didattico 'Walter Albisetti' teaching centre is inaugurated in July inside the Pini hospital.

• 1943

  Bombings heavily damage the historic area of the Pini site; only part of the colonnade and sixteenth-century vaults survive.

• 1915

  The Rifugio on viale Monza opens as a physiotherapy section for rehabilitation, later evolving into the Fanny Finzi-Ottolenghi rehabilitation centre.

• 1881

  Renamed Pio Istituto dei Rachitici.

• 1874

  Pio Istituto dei Rachitici founded in Milan by Gaetano Pini to treat children with rickets; an orthopaedic outpatient clinic is set up by Pietro Panzeri.

National reference centre for musculoskeletal and rheumatological care within the Lombardy regional health service, combining specialised clinical care, university teaching and research.

• Presidio Ospedaliero Gaetano Pini

  Central Milan hospital specialised in musculoskeletal pathology, rheumatology and physical medicine, with advanced imaging, conventional and robotic operating theatres, receiving over 300,000 users a year.

• Presidio Ospedaliero CTO

  Reference centre for orthopaedics-traumatology, hand surgery and rehabilitation of spinal-cord patients, also active in cardiological, respiratory and neurological rehabilitation including a centre for Parkinson's disease and parkinsonisms.

• Polo Riabilitativo Fanny Finzi-Ottolenghi

  Rehabilitation and physical medicine centre in the Gorla district, evolved from the 1915 Rifugio and housed since the early 2000s in a new contemporary facility.

• Polo Didattico 'Walter Albisetti'

  Teaching centre inside the Pini hospital with six classrooms (100 to 5 seats), inaugurated in July 2012 and managed by the University of Milan.

1. 1Chi siamo | ASST Gaetano Pini - CTOasst-pini-cto.it
2. 2Aule Didattiche | ASST Gaetano Pini - CTOasst-pini-cto.it
3. 3Ricerca e Innovazione | ASST Gaetano Pini - CTOasst-pini-cto.it
4. 4Istituto ortopedico Gaetano Pini - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org
5. 5Ospedale Gaetano Pini - Wikidatawikidata.org