Chiara Baldessari

Dr. Chiara Baldessari is a pulmonologist and Head of the Pulmonology Service at the IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, which includes the Respiratory Pathophysiology Service and the Sleep Respiratory Disorders Clinic.

She graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Milan in 2001. In 2006, she completed her specialization in Respiratory Diseases with full marks and honors at the same university, focusing her thesis on the metabolic aspects of Sleep Apnea Syndrome. From 2002 to 2008, she delved into this topic through a multidisciplinary collaboration involving the departments of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Bariatric Surgery, Neurology, Otorhinolaryngology, Cardiology, and Anesthesiology. Additionally, she has taught theoretical and practical polysomnography sessions to groups of specialists and General Practitioners.

During her specialization, she spent nearly a year at the Interventional Endoscopy Unit of the Hospital of Alessandria, refining her skills in interventional bronchoscopy, including the use of rigid bronchoscopy.

After graduating, Dr. Baldessari dedicated herself to clinical practice, including extended periods of outpatient work as a substitute for General Practitioners in Milan. In August 2005 and August 2006, she also worked on the Île de Cavallo (Corsica, France).

In 2008, she was appointed as First-Level Medical Director in the Pulmonology Division of Policlinico San Donato. From March 2020 to June 2021, she served as the Head of the COVID-19 Unit, and since July 2020, she has been the Head of the Pulmonology Service.

From 2009 to 2020, Dr. Baldessari was a contract professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Milan, teaching in the Course on Semiology and Pathology of the Apparatuses I at the San Donato University Hospital.

Dr. Baldessari conducts outpatient pulmonology visits with a particular focus on major chronic diseases such as asthma and COPD, as well as acute conditions like pneumonia and pleural effusions. She manages the treatment of chronic respiratory failure due to advanced respiratory diseases and progressive neurodegenerative conditions, prescribing long-term oxygen therapy and non-invasive mechanical ventilation when necessary, along with managing secretions and dysphagia through mechanical aspiration.

She has a particular interest in Sleep Respiratory Disorders, interpreting overnight polysomnographic recordings, treating Sleep Apnea Syndrome with non-invasive mechanical ventilation and other nocturnal systems, and conducting outpatient follow-up for various aspects of chronic sleep-related conditions.

Dr. Baldessari is also involved in performing fibrobronchoscopies aimed at diagnosing pulmonary lesions through microbiological, cytological, and, when necessary, histological examinations.